The Spiral Mask
by articwolfgirl347
Summary: Hinata has been exiled from the Hyuuga clan, and tries to commit suicide. She fails, however, and wakes to find the most unlikely saviors- the Akatsuki. Hinata joins their ranks and learns what it means to be a member of the Akatsuki, but when she runs into Naruto while on a mission, what will she do?
1. Reborn

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Warning**: Spoilers from Shippuden. Definitely.

Hinata took another dizzy step forward. She had lost everything. Neji had proved he was better than her in the match. Her father had been furious when he'd heard of her failure. Her younger sister had been named the heir of the Hyuuga, and Hinata had been given the choice to leave the clan or become a branch member.

Her second-to-last act of courage had been to leave the clan. Her final act of courage would be to take her own pathetic life. She couldn't stand the thought of Naruto ever looking into her weak eyes again, or anyone else. She was the reject of the Hyuuga clan.  
She gathered the rocks to her, and plunged into the river's cold depths.

* * *

"I told you to leave it, Tobi."

"But Konan saved it. Doesn't she want it to be grateful to her? Doesn't she want it to give her something?"

"No. Let's go."

"But it might die still!"

"Come on, Tobi, before it wakes up."

"So you do think it will live." Hinata opened her eyes and started to cough and gag. She felt a hand at her back, steadying her. She spurted out water and gasped for breath.

"Konan, Konan, it's alive! What do I do?" Hinata's breathing evened out, though her stomach lurched and she groaned in pain. The grass reflected bright green at her, and she heard the river behind her. _The river!_

Hinata shifted into an upright position. "I'm still alive?" she whispered.

"Yeah! Konan saved you." She looked up into an orange, spiraling mask. She glanced down and saw his black-and-red robes.

"Akatsuki!"

"Great, now she knows who and where we are." Hinata saw a blue-haired Akatsuki member roll her eyes. Hinata hadn't heard of there being any girls in the Akatsuki.

"I was... saved by the Akatsuki?" Hinata asked.

"Tobi, you have single-handedly ruined the reputation of the entire organization."

"Konan pulled her out of the water!" he argued.

"You're the one who saw her first."

"How am I still alive?" Hinata asked. "There were rocks tied to me."

"Ropes must've not been very tight. You were floating along here when we found you," Konan sighed.

Hinata lowered her head."I was supposed to die."

"Well, you didn't do a very good job of it," said Konan.

"Not all kunoichi can be strong like Konan," replied Tobi.

"Strong ninja are strong, and weak ninja are weak. Gender has nothing to do with it." Hinata jerked back at that. Her father had said about as much when he'd disinherited her. She coughed again.

"She's still sick. Maybe Sasori-san can heal her," Tobi said.

"And show her where the base is?"

"I wanted to die," Hinata said, and the two turned to her again. "That was the point." She turned to Tobi. "Please, Akatsuki-san, kill me." Begging for death. She truly was the lowest of the low, like her father said.

Tobi balked at the request, and hid behind Konan. "What?" he squeaked. Konan pushed him off of her. Hinata turned her eyes onto Konan.

"This is your desire?" Konan asked.

"Yes."

"Your wish is granted." Konan pulled out a kunai, and Hinata closed her eyes. She felt a rush of wind-

But nothing more. Was she dead already? She cracked open her eyes. Konan was right in front of her, and her kunai was at Hinata's neck. So why-?

Konan put the kunai away back into her pouch. "Go home, kid."

"I don't have a home."

"You haven't crossed out your headband," Konan replied in a soft voice. "You still have a home."

"My clan abandoned me. I was too weak." Tobi jumped onto Hinata and clasped his arms around her.

"Oh, I don't want to leave her behind like this. Can we keep her?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?" Hinata pitched forward and it was only due to Tobi's arms around her that she didn't hit the ground as she fainted.

* * *

When Hinata next opened her eyes, she found a red-haired man looking down at her. "You're at the base of the most dangerous crime organization the shinobi world has ever seen," he told her. "How do you feel?"

"C-Confused," she trembled. Earlier her bravado had come from the knowledge of her imminent death. Now, who knew what they might do to her?

"That makes two of-"

"She's alive!" Tobi swung open the door to the medical room. "Tobi heard voices." Behind him, spilling into the room, were a green plant-man, a blond man, and a platinum-haired man with a scythe. Behind them, Konan entered calmly.

"What is she doing here?" the blond one asked.

"Konan saved her," Tobi said.

"You saved her, Tobi. Not me."

Tobi ignored her and turned to Hinata. "Hey, Tobi has an idea! She can stay here with us." Dead silence penetrated the room at his comment.

Then an orange-haired figure entered the room. "What's this I hear about a girl?" Hinata watched the blond man tense up.  
"Konan saved her-" Tobi started.

"I didn't."

"And Tobi brought her back here. She can stay with us, right? Konan will look after her, because she doesn't have active missions, and she can train the girl to become strong."

The orange-haired man turned to Konan and raised one eyebrow. "I pulled her out of the water and dropped her on the shore. Anything that happened after that is his fault, and I will not be responsible for her," she said.

"Why didn't you just kill her, un?" the blond man asked.

"She was half dead already. There didn't seem to be any use for it," Konan said.

"**Can we eat her?**" The plant guy asked, and Hinata cringed. The orange-haired man sighed.

"We can't let her leave here with what she knows. Option one: kill her. Easiest for us to deal with, most probable. Option two: keep her here. This requires sacrifice and the possibility of sensitive information getting leaked to outside sources. Tobi, you brought her here, so if she stays, you will be removed from active duty for an undetermined amount of time," he said.

"Okay," Tobi sighed. "Tobi will be a teacher!" he brightened up. "Tobi will be Tobi-sensei!"

"If she gets loose, we'll kill you, understand?" Hinata's mouth fell open. What-?

"Yep!"

The orange-haired man glanced around the room. "Is Option two accepted?"

"I guess, un... she can cook, right?" For the first time since the beginning, they all looked at Hinata. She didn't trust herself to speak, so she just nodded.

"Disappointing," the plant man said. The scythe man just shrugged.

"Tell the other three when you see them, if you want her living. Tobi, you're in charge of her. Don't do anything foolish. Konan, you're with me. We're going out," the orange-haired man said.

"Hai, Leader-sama." This man was the leader of Akatsuki? Hinata should have known with his commanding, still presence. The room swiftly became empty again, the blond one complaining for food and the scythe one groaning that he was going to 'sleep like the dead.' The plant man slipped out quietly.

"Do you have any injuries or sickness?" the red-haired man asked her.

"N-No," she muttered.

He nodded. "I am Sasori. I'll be taking my leave of you now." He left, and Tobi turned to her.

"I'll show you around! Follow Tobi!" Hinata's hand was grabbed and she was pulled out of the room. "Living room," he waved, and she glanced at the two couches and love seats. "Kitchen," he pointed out behind it. He pulled her along the hallway until it started to curve. "Rooms, rooms, rooms- this one is Tobi's!" He opened the door. It was nondescript enough with a desk and chair in the corner. "You might be sleeping with Tobi," he mused. "We'll get you an extra futon."

"Thank you," Hinata murmured. If it hadn't been for Tobi, she really would be dead right now.

"No problem! Around here," he took her past the bedrooms, "are the training rooms. Well, some of them, anyways." After they passed the training rooms, she saw a room with black walls, ceiling, and carpet. A large table was around it, with chairs. "That's the meeting room. Tobi thinks it needs more color." Hinata nodded absently.

"That's it! Oh, by the way, my name is Tobi-sensei. What is yours?"

"H- Hinata." She had almost said 'Hyuuga' but she wasn't a Hyuuga anymore, and didn't think that it would be smart to tell him that anyways. She didn't want her eyes plucked out, after all.

"Well, Hinata-chan, that's most of the base. What do you want to do now?" She took a step back. I was planning on being dead within the day, but now... now I live. She didn't have an answer. She didn't know what she wanted. Even if she desired something, it would be rude to ask anything of Tobi now.

"What do you want to do, Tobi-sensei?" It felt odd to use the suffix 'sensei' to Tobi's name. All of Hinata's previous instructors had been serious and knowledgeable, and Tobi didn't quite seem to match her expectations of the word. Still, she was nothing if not dutiful.

"Tobi wants to eat! What will Hinata-chan be making? Rice? Pasta? Oh, Tobi wants a pig roast with mashed potatoes! Can Hinata-chan make mashed potatoes?"

Hinata blinked. "Y-yes..." Where was she going to find a pig to roast? She didn't even know how to roast a pig. Did its entrails need to be removed? What about its eyes? Hinata had cooked infrequently at the Hyuuga compound because the kitchen was not really the place for the Hyuuga heiress. "We m-may have to skip the p-pig roast."

"That's OK with Tobi! Make spaghetti instead, Hinata-chan!" That was the other thing. They had only just met, but he already talked to her with such informality. Part of Hinata wanted to scream about politeness with strangers, but Tobi had saved her life. And Hinata had never once raised her voice to anyone.

She opened several cupboards to find what she needed, but it really wasn't all that difficult. "Make enough for twenty people, Hinata-chan!" Tobi told her. "Except the mashed potatoes. Those are mine." Hinata nodded. Soon, three pots of water were boiling and Hinata was peeling the potatoes Tobi had located for her.

"Does... does Hinata-chan like Tobi?" he asked, and she looked up at him.

She blushed. "T-Tobi-sensei saved me. O-of course."

He laughed. "Does Hinata-chan stutter when she's embarrassed?"

Her face turned red. "N-n-no."

He grinned. "Does Hinata like Deidara?" It caught her off guard.

"Who?"

"The blond one! Tobi goes on missions with him." Tobi leaned forward. "Does Hinata-chan like him?"

"I d-don't know. I've only met hi-him once." Tobi continued to ask her questions about the different Akatsuki members and her favorite foods. Every once in a while he would ask something really, really unexpected, and Hinata almost wondered if it was some form of interrogation. Or a personality test?

Regardless, she was so busy trying to remember when the last time she had fried octopus was, that she didn't see a few other Akatsuki members drift in.

"Are you making food, un?" Deidara asked.

"I'm starving," the plant man, Zetsu, said. Hinata flinched.

"Obviously," Sasori answered Deidara. "Otherwise, would Tobi be here?"

"True," Deidara nodded, and Tobi launched into a tirade about how Deidara never got Tobi food when they were on missions and how it was illegal to starve someone that long. Deidara rolled his eyes. "Crime organization, remember? Baka."

When Hinata brought the food out of the kitchen, the dinner table was filled with everyone she had seen earlier, including Konan and the leader. "Itadakimasu!" Tobi cheered, and everyone echoed him before digging in. Hinata ate slowly and watched as the seven people around her consumed the portions meant for twenty.

After dinner, she washed the dishes. Just as she was finishing up, Tobi popped in. "Hey, Hinata-chan, Tobi-sensei wants to show you something!"

"O-okay." She put the last plate away and followed him into his room. He pulled out a previously unnoticed ladder, set it against part of his roof, and slid open a part of the roof to reveal a hidden exit.

"Climb up after Tobi!" He told her. When Hinata emerged, her eyes widened. The stars were so bright this far away from Konoha, and the night air was brisk and cool. Had it really only been yesterday that she had attempted to take her own life?

Tobi laid down on the roof, and Hinata sat next to him, about two feet away. "Tobi likes laying here. He comes here to think and relax away from the others. Hinata-chan can come out here, too."

"Thank you," she murmured. Louder, she asked, "How come no one has found the base yet?"

"The entire place has a strong genjutsu placed on it," Tobi told her. "Only a real master looking for it would be able to see through it." She nodded. "Oh, look, there's the constellation Scorpius!" Tobi started to point out the constellations in the sky and then told ridiculous stories about each of them that were nowhere near the truth. Eventually, he started to make up his own constellations as he went.

Hinata had become more tired as the stories went on and started when she realized Tobi had started to get up. "Tobi's tired. He and Hinata-chan need to sleep because tomorrow Tobi-sensei starts her training!"

She nodded and they re-entered the building. Tobi laid out his and Hinata's futon. "Tell Tobi or Konan if you need anything. Good night, Hinata-chan!"

"Good night, Tobi." She would have to sleep in the same clothes she had tried to drown in. She removed her coat and placed it on top of her blanket, grateful for the tank top she was wearing underneath. She would wake up early enough tomorrow morning to put it back on before Tobi woke up.

With those matters taken care of, Hinata fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Hinata woke to Tobi's pokes. "I'll see you in the kitchen. After breakfast, we start training!" Hinata was then left to herself. So it hadn't been a dream. She didn't really think it was, but there had been an outside chance that she might wake up in Konoha.

She zipped up her coat and put her futon away before heading to the kitchen for a breakfast of rice. All too soon, she was standing across from Tobi in a training area. She shifted on her toes and waited for him to speak.

* * *

**Author Confession:** **The Spiral Mask is actually complete. I'm uploading one chapter a week. I'm counting this story as July's Nanowrimo since I wrote it in three weeks. Reviews are fantastic to receive, consider dropping one by.  
**


	2. Water Style

"Okay, Hinata-chan, I need to see what level you're at in order to start training you. Come at me with everything you got, ne?"

"Hai, Tobi-sensei," she answered. Hinata slid into the Hyuuga forms. She wasn't going to be able to fight him without using her Byakugan, regrettably. She only knew the Hyuuga form and the basic academy style, which was no match for a member of Akatsuki. "Byakugan!" Everything sharpened into focus.

"Oh ho! Hinata-chan has the Byakugan? Sugoi!" Tobi cheered. She ignored him. She was a close-range fighter at best, so she had to get closer to him. She pulled out a few kunai and threw them at Tobi, and started to run towards him. He diverted them. She threw out a few more well-placed chakra needles, but he knocked down those too. As he knocked down the needles, she jabbed twice, once on the chest and once on the arm. When she went in for the four-palm state, he kicked her backwards and sent her sprawling along the ground.

"Not bad for a beginner, ne? But now it's time for Tobi-sensei to go on offense, too! Whack-A-Mole no jutsu!" He slipped into the ground and Hinata focused on his chakra signature, which was snaking towards her.

He arose next to her, and she made to jab him again, but Tobi held a large club and swung it into her side before she could touch him. She slammed against the ground and got up again. He's fast... so much faster than I am. It might not be a good idea to fight close-range. She'd be relying on her chakra needles, then. Kurenai-sensei had been focusing on teaching her genjutsu, but her genjutsu was still weak enough to be seen through.

She watched him snake towards her again, and when he arose, Hinata jumped back and threw her chakra needles at him. Surprisingly, they hit.

Hinata-chan saw him coming up at her back, too, but was too slow to jump away and was hit again. The Tobi that she had hit poofed out of existence. A shadow clone, then. Disappointing, but she couldn't dwell on it. She scrambled back up as she saw his chakra signature snake towards her once more.

By the time Tobi called it quits, the sun was high in the sky and it was time for lunch. Hinata struggled to her feet, coughing blood. Tobi had probably been going easy on her, but she had still been pummeled and beaten and sliced, and on one occasion, singed. If she hadn't used her Byakugan, she might be dead. It was the only thing that had given her an edge in the fight, a strong defense. But even if she could see what was coming, she still couldn't get out of the way.

She made a simple sandwich for her and Tobi-sensei, but the simple task became extremely difficult when every muscle was convulsing. She sat down to eat, and while they ate, Tobi started to talk.

"Hinata-chan has a strong will but weak techniques. The people in charge of Hinata-chan's training in Konoha were complete idiots."

Her head jerked and she looked Tobi in his one uncovered eye. "What d-do you mean?"

"Hinata-chan has an eye for detail and predicts Tobi-sensei's moves well. However, the Hyuuga clan style of fighting forms doesn't match Hinata-chan well. Your smooth footwork matches you, but the poking jabs to shut off chakra don't. You don't have the strength to match your precision, so your jabs don't always shut off the chakra," he told her. Hinata lowered her head and nodded.

"Hinata-chan," he said, and waited until she looked up at him to continue, "your fighting forms should match your personality for full effectiveness. The Hyuuga style assumes that its fighter is self-confident to the point of cockiness, as well as intelligent and quick." Hinata blinked and struggled to clear her throat. Her father had often berated her for a lack of self-confidence and intelligence.

"Hinata-chan, you are smart. You aren't very fast yet, so that's what we'll work on most. We'll start you with weights later today. Hinata-chan is also very humble and shy. You'll get better at the Hyuuga forms if you get faster, but I think we need to modify your forms by adding another fighting style to it. Hinata's moves should be fluid strikes because she needs momentum to put power behind her blows." She nodded.

"Yeah! Hinata-chan is going to be so strong. Tobi-sensei is going to put all of Hinata-chan's other sensei to shame!" With that declaration, he launched his sandwich into his mouth and took a large bite. Hinata felt the urge to laugh, and tried to restrain it, but a giggle escaped from her. Tobi wasn't going to write her off as a failure. He thought she had a strong will, strong potential.

Tobi looked up when he heard her giggle. She just gave a small smile before taking another bite of her own sandwich. Hinata was going to prove to herself that she could become strong. She was starving for it.

* * *

Sasori was the closest thing to a medic they had, so he helped Hinata recover from the sparring (read: beating) session she'd received earlier. "The rest is superficial," he told Hinata when he'd healed most of her cuts and there were nothing but several large bruises left. She thanked him politely and Tobi walked with her to their room to add weights to her legs. He slid open a panel of the wall and it revealed several shinobi tools, such as shuriken and kunai. It also held bandages and weights.

He found a size closest to Hinata's and then turned to look at her. "How much do you want to start out at? Keep in mind that we'll slowly be adding a little more at a time."

"Start me out at fif-fifteen pounds," she muttered. "Please." He nodded, and fit them onto her legs. She blushed at his care. The only ones that had cared for her like this had been the Hyuuga branch members, who secretly despised helping her. "Th-thank you." He nodded.

"No problem, Hinata-chan! Why don't you try walking with them?" She stood and took a step forward. It felt odd to be weighted, but it didn't feel too heavy. She took another few steps forward.

"It's fine," she said.

"Try to walk normally with them on," he giggled. "Hinata-chan walks funny!" She frowned and tried to walk as straight as possible. It was closer to her normal gait, but Tobi still laughed at her.

She would spend until dinnertime practicing walking with the weights on. For dinner, she made sweet chicken and rice. When they sat down to eat, the leader (Hinata still didn't know his name) asked Sasori how his interrogation was going.

"He was quite stubborn, but he began to break when I started peeling off his skin," Sasori answered. Hinata's skin pricked, and she felt a breeze crawl up her spine. I'd almost forgotten this was a crime organization. Of course they do terrible things to people. So do most shinobi villages. In the villages, it just wasn't so casually discussed. The leader nodded and went back to finishing his meal.

After washing the dishes, Hinata sat down on one of the couches in the living room to relax and think. For once, Tobi had left her by herself.

Hinata hadn't asked to join the Akatsuki. She didn't want to betray the village or become a missing nin. That was likely what they had labeled her since they didn't find her body like she had planned. She wondered if the village was in an uproar at her disappearance. After all, they didn't know if she'd been taken and her Byakugan stolen by another village. If they suspected of her running away from the village of her own free will, they would be sending out search teams to find her and bring her back.

She could slip away from the Akatsuki and go back to Konoha. She didn't come here of her own free will. Tobi had dragged her unconscious body to the Akatsuki base. Why was she still here?

Because she hadn't thought of leaving until that moment. Because she had been taken in by the enemy of her village and they hadn't killed her. Because Tobi, more than anyone from Konoha ever did, wanted to teach her until she was as strong as any of them.

She wasn't going to leave.

* * *

The next morning Tobi woke her up and started a morning workout with Hinata. They would run a few laps around the base, do some stretching and flexibility training, and have a short spar to check on her progress before heading to breakfast together. Despite Tobi's silliness, Hinata was growing to respect Tobi and enjoy his company. It seemed she had made one friend among the Akatsuki.

When they went to get breakfast, Konan was eating at the table by herself. "Yo, Konan," Tobi greeted and sat down next to her, and Hinata sat across from them. "I need you to get some chakra-style testing paper." Konan raised an eyebrow.

"What for?"

"For Hinata-chan, of course!"

"I'm not your errand girl, Tobi." She looked at Hinata. "You're coming shopping with me so you'll know how to do it yourself. We'll leave in the next twenty minutes." Konan put her bowl in the sink and disappeared into her room.

Twenty minutes later, Hinata stood outside of Konan's room. She hesitated, and then knocked softly on the door. Konan opened it. "Ready to go?" she asked Hinata. Hinata nodded. "Before we leave, you need to do something about that." Konan gestured to Hinata's headband, which was secured around her neck.

"Wh-what about it?" she asked.

"You're either with us, or you aren't," Konan said. She handed Hinata a kunai. Hinata took off her headband and held it in one hand, the kunai in the other. Konan wanted her to scratch out the symbol of Konoha and join the ranks of the missing nin. Could she do it?

She'd decided last night that she wasn't going to leave the Akatsuki until she became strong. She would have to be a rogue ninja until then. She flicked the kunai across her headband, and fastened it once more around her neck. Hinata moved to return the kunai to Konan.

"Keep it," Konan said. Hinata put it away and the two left to go shopping.

"Let me guess," Konan said as they entered the town, "you need clothing too." Hinata nodded. "We'll get the chakra-sensing paper first. Stay by me, and keep quiet." When the two started to pass people on the way into town, Hinata noticed them bowing to Konan. Why were they bowing to her? Did Konan command such respect? Hinata hadn't been able to get a read on Konan's personality.

They entered a humble shop stocked with knives, shuriken, pouches, and backpacks. They stepped up to the counter. "Angel-sama," the woman behind the counter smiled and bowed. She was slightly plump and looked to be in her late fifties. "What can I do for you?"

"I need chakra-sensing paper."

"Heh," the man behind her grunted, "What does an 'angel' need with paper? Shouldn't you just see all and know all?"

"Thomas," the woman rebuked, "shut up and get it, will you?" She turned back to Konan and bowed. "My apologies for my husband's loose tongue. May heaven grant us mercy upon our souls." She took a small bag from her husband and gave it to Konan. "No charge, Angel-sama."

"Mercy is given," Konan said.

"Who is she?" the woman asked, looking at Hinata. "Another one of His messengers?"

"She has not yet transcended mortality," Konan answered, and she and Hinata left the shop. Why did the woman call Konan 'Angel'? Hinata frowned. Konan acted like an angel, too. Konan walked through the town with a quiet grace about her.

"Strength is not necessarily cruelty," Konan told Hinata softly, just before they entered a clothes shop. Hinata's brow furrowed. Why would she say that? Ever since the shopping excursion began, Hinata only got more and more confused. Who were the Akatsuki to these people?

"Pick out what you like," Konan told her. Hinata bought a few khaki capris and some light lavender shirts with a v-neck. She bought a long-sleeved darker purple shirt as well. Konan walked up to the register, where a young woman stood.

"Hello, Angel-sama!" the girl smiled. "Did you find everything alright?"

"We did," Konan answered, and paid for the clothing. She handed the bag to Hinata and turned to leave.

"Wait, Angel-sama!" the girl said. She brought out a bouquet from behind the counter. "I had a feeling you might be coming soon. These are for you."

Konan accepted the bouquet with a small smile. "Thank you."

The girl flushed. "I-it's nothing, Angel-sama. Please come again soon." Konan and Hinata left the village and walked back to the base.

"What- what was that about?" Hinata finally asked.

"Pein- Leader-sama- kills people he needs to kill. They gave him the title of 'God'. I save the people who don't need to die, from him and occasionally from accidents that otherwise would have been fatal. They call me 'Angel'," Konan answered.

"Why save them?" Hinata asked. The Akatsuki were a criminal organization. When did criminals start to care about people?

"Because I can," Konan answered. "I didn't create my title, but I respect and honor it." Was this Konan? A woman who wanted to help people. There had to be more.

"Why do you kill people?" Hinata asked.

"Because I would do anything for Leader-sama," she said. "He is precious to me." When they returned to the base, Hinata put her clothes away and went to find Konan to thank her. She found the woman in a room past the healing room, one without a door. She was making origami.

"Thank you for taking me shopping," Hinata bowed.

"Don't worry about it," Konan replied. When Hinata stayed where she was, Konan asked, "Do you want to make something?" Hinata sat down and started folding a crane. Her mother had taught her how to do it.

"Would you like to learn how to make a paper rose?" Konan asked.

"Um, yeah..." Hinata moved closer to Konan. "C-can you show me?"

That was how Pein found them later, folding paper with an array of origami creations. "Will you show me how to make that one?" Hinata asked, pointing to a pinwheel Konan had made.

"Of course," Konan replied, and looked up to see Pein standing there. "Ah, did you need anything, Leader-sama?"

"I'm fine, Konan," he said. He sat down next to her chair, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Found you!" Tobi bounced over as Hinata finished her second pinwheel. It looked significantly better than the pitiful, bent paper that was her first pinwheel. "We're going to have another training session before dinner. Let's go!"

"See you at dinner," Konan said.

"Bye," Hinata replied, and hurried after her mentor. When they got to the place that Tobi decided was their training area, he pulled out the bag that held the chakra sensing paper. He handed the bag to her.

"Pull out the paper and focus juuuuust a little bit of chakra into it," he said. As she did so, the paper became soggy and wet. "Yatta! You're a water type," Tobi told her. "Congratulations!"

"I... thank you," she murmured. She knew about the different elements of ninjutsu, but she'd never seen anyone learn what type they were.

"Do you know what that means?" She shook her head. "We can now focus on water style ninjutsu to make you stronger. Your fluid taijutsu style will work well with water style techniques, too. The other two closest elements to water, and typically the next two you do best at, are wind and earth." He grinned and gave her a squeezing hug. Her mouth opened at the physical contact. She hadn't been hugged since she was a child.

He pulled away from her. "Okay, Hinata-chan! Let me teach you a basic water jutsu."

"Hai, Tobi-sensei!" She was determined to work until she dropped from exhaustion. She was going to become a great shinobi, one who surpassed all others in her former clan.

In the next week, Hinata settled into something of a routine. First was morning training, then breakfast, then she hung out with Konan and worked on her origami skills. After that was lunch, training with Tobi until it was time for dinner, and then her collapse into an exhausted sleep.

On one afternoon, she met Tobi at their training session to try out different weapons. She threw, swung, and jabbed at dummies Tobi had found from somewhere inside the base, but he was dissatisfied with her use of all of them.

"Hinata-chan may need something... more specialized," he murmured. "You're good with a katana, but it's too large for you. You're clumsy with it."

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata said. "I promise I'll do better next time." It was a phrase she had said often in Konoha.

"Don't be silly, Hinata-chan," Tobi said, ruffling her hair until she pushed his arm off her. "We just need to visit a shinobi blacksmith."

"Or you could try these, baka," a voice said from behind Hinata. She turned to see Konan approaching them. She handed the sharp weapons to Tobi. "Chakra blades with adjustable blades that snap open. She can grip them in her hands or place them on her forearm to protect her while she jabs her enemy."

"Have you been spying on us?" Tobi demanded. It was along the same lines as what Hinata had been thinking.

"Just enough to see that you're changing her to use a more fluid style of taijutsu. Chakra blades are some of the most fluid weapons out there. Why didn't you think of them?"

"Eh-heh-heh, Tobi was half-asleep when he decided to try out weapons today," he confessed.

"Well, see if they work. Pein and I are heading out into the town."

"Ooh, is Konan going on a date?" Tobi asked, and dodged the kunai thrown his way. He grinned as Konan left.

"Okay, Hinata-chan, put them on." He helped her with them. The chakra bladed were retractable but sprang open with one click. Tobi showed her that to put them on, she slipped her opposite hand into the holes and slid it out.

"Wow," she breathed. The blades felt the right size in her hands, and fluid in slipping on and off her arm.

"Take out the dummies, Hinata-chan!" She tightened her grip on the blades and ran forwards. She sliced at the chest, stomach, and neck of the dummy. When she sliced the neck a second time, the head fell off. "Hinata-chan, you're amazing!" Tobi gushed.

"K-Konan's really smart," Hinata replied. "I wonder how she knew it would work...?"

"Ne, ne, let's get training, Hinata-chan! The blades should feel second nature to you soon enough. Let's try slicing a tree next to see how deep you can slice!"

Hinata was slow in making dinner that night, but a light blush graced her skin as she thought about the discovery of her perfect weapon. She wondered if this was how Tenten felt with every weapon she found. No wonder the girl talked about weapons with such a light of wonder in her eyes. Hinata had always secretly thought it was bloodlust.

She breezed through dinner and was wandering around the base when she turned a corner and bumped into someone, hard. "Oh, I'm sorr-" Hinata gasped when she saw the man. "I-Itachi?!" she squeaked, and took a step back. The man squinted at her. A large, blue man was behind him.

"Hyuuga?" Itachi took a step forward. Hinata squeaked again and tore off through the corridor. Adrenaline pumped through her, and she didn't stop until she reached Tobi's bedroom. She dashed in, and slammed the door behind her. Tobi was sitting on his futon. He turned to her.

"What's going on?" he asked, eyes narrowed. "What do we have here, a Hyuuga?" Hinata backed up and hit the wall. Tobi stood up.

"I-it's me, T-Tobi-s-s-sensei."

"My name," he said, "is Uchiha Madara."

* * *

#Authorconfession: Originally, this story was supposed to be mainly between Konan and Hinata, but when Tobi interfered, everything changed. Oh, Tobi, what will we ever do with you?

Also, it was my birthday last week. Review for me? As a late birthday gift?

Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. 'Til next time!


	3. Surprise From Konoha

"You look so delicate," Madara rasped. "I wonder what it would take to break you...?" The door to the room opened. Hinata burst out of it and almost ran into the leader, Pein.

"S-sorry!" she said, before racing away. Where would she be safe at now? She blundered around another corner, and hit another person. "Sorry!" she nearly screamed.

"Hinata?" Konan asked. Hinata heard footsteps approaching from the other way.

"Byakugan!" Her eyes sharpened, and she saw that it was Itachi and the other man coming their way. She pressed herself against Konan's back and clutched the woman's cloak. Konan blinked.

"What's wrong?"

"U-Uchiha I-I-Itachi is here!" Hinata managed to say.

"And?"

"He killed his whole clan in a s-single night."

"I know- oh, you're from Konoha. Don't worry, he won't hurt you," Konan said as Itachi and the blue man rounded the corner. "Besides, we're all as bad as he is." Hinata released Konan's cloak, but she still hid behind her.

"R-really?" she asked Konan.

"We're all psychopaths," she motioned to the blue one, "or power-crazed." She waved at Itachi. Kisame grinned at her, and Hinata shrank back further.

"How was the mission?" Konan asked them.

"Annoying," Itachi answered.

"We went to fetch the demon brat, but Jiraiya the Sannin showed up and got involved," the blue one said.

"You didn't get the demon container?" Konan asked.

"We could have, if we wanted the whole world to know we were after jinchuriki," Itachi replied. "Besides, there isn't any hurry."

"Enough small talk," the blue one pointed his sword at Hinata, "Who's the girl?"

"Her name is Hinata. She's... I believe Deidara called her 'Tobi's pet project'. It's close enough to the truth. No eating, mutilating or killing her."

"She's a Hyuuga," said Itachi. Konan gave him a flat look.

"I hadn't noticed."

"What happens when her clan comes looking for her?"

"They've disinherited her."

"That won't stop-"

"Take it up with Pein. I'm finished here." She turned to Hinata. "Come with me." Over her shoulder, Konan said, "I'd avoid Pein at the moment if I were you. He's with Madara and they're both a bit... touchy." Itachi nodded his thanks.

Konan took Hinata into her room. Origami hung along the string of one wall. Like Tobi's, there was a desk and not much else. Konan gestured for Hinata to take a seat at the desk. "So, about Madara..." she said. Hinata looked up. Why had Tobi addressed her in such a fearsome manner? "Yes, he is the Madara Uchiha, originally from Konoha. He feeds off other's souls to live, in a manner of speaking. Except for whatever reason, when he entered Tobi's body, he couldn't get rid of him because Tobi's personality is so strong."

Hinata's face crinkled in confusion. "Tobi-sensei is Uchiha Madara?"

"Sometimes. Either that, or he might have dissociative identity disorder, or Madara is just making up the Tobi personality to throw us all off. We still aren't completely sure which one it is. In any case, when he's Madara he doesn't remember being Tobi, and when he's Tobi, he doesn't remember being Madara."

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"I guess it can't be helped. On the nights he's Madara, you can sleep with me." Konan pulled out two futons from a sliding panel in the wall. Hinata lay down on the futon and found that she was even more exhausted than she had been before running into Itachi. She wondered if she could ever feel confident living with a group of murderers, if they were all as bad as Konan said they were. What did she think she was doing here? It would be a miracle if she made it out of the base alive.

* * *

It had been two months since Hinata had joined the Akatsuki. Tobi had increased the amount of time spent training because he really wanted to push her endurance levels in a fight. Next week, he promised, they would slow down and give her some free time. She had rapidly grown used to going to bed and waking up with several bruises and aches, only to get more each day. Was that how Kisame's skin became blue, a constant layer of bruises spreading across his body?

Hinata didn't whine or complain. She had been taught that it was disrespectful, but moreover, she wanted Tobi-sensei to keep challenging her.

Hinata and Tobi went through their morning routine. It was refreshing to Hinata to run through the chilly air to push the sleep away from her eyes and become active for the day. During breakfast, she sat next to Tobi across from Konan.

"Hinata-chan," Tobi said as she finished up breakfast, "Why don't you go shopping with Konan today?"

Hinata started. "Hmm?"

"Hinata needs one morning off, and Tobi-sensei has things he needs to do for Leader-sama."

"Okay." Hinata looked at Konan. "Is that alright?"

Konan nodded. "Why don't you wash up and meet me outside in a few minutes?" she asked. Hinata agreed.

Soon they were among the wakening village. Hinata had only come to the village twice before, but it was normal enough now to see people bowing to Konan. They went to a paper store, and Konan bought some origami paper. Hinata saw a pretty silver paper, and Konan bought it for her.

"Thank you, Konan-san," Hinata said.

Konan gave a small smile. "Let's keep going," she answered. They went into the marketplace because the food stock at the base was low. Konan bought another sack of rice and Hinata held it for her as Konan perused some of the vegetables. She was looking at the leeks when someone approached them from behind.

"Let the girl go now, and we don't have to fight you." Konan and Hinata turned around. Hinata recognized Maito Gai, Tenten, Rock Lee, and her cousin Neji. Her eyes widened. What were they doing here?

Konan silently took the bag of rice from Hinata. "Follow me," she told Hinata, and they ran out of the village in the opposite direction of the base. Gai's team was right behind them, and followed the two until they had put a distance between them and the village. Konan put the groceries down behind her and turned to face the Konoha shinobi.

"What do you want?" Konan asked.

"Return Hinata-san to us," Gai said. Hinata's heart rate picked up. They wanted to take her back to Konoha! They weren't supposed to find her here, with the Akatsuki. They weren't supposed to come take her away back to Konoha.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that," Konan said. "She's one of us now. A rogue shinobi, or a missing nin, if you will."

"We'll do everything we can to bring her back," Gai said, "using the Powers of Youth! Team Gai, go!" They spread out into a battle formation.

"Hinata," Konan turned her eyes to the younger girl, "Can you take one on your own?" Hinata didn't trust herself to speak, so she nodded. "Then go." Hinata darted away from Konan, and Neji followed her. When Lee and Tenten went to race after him, they were pulled back by a line of paper shuriken.

"Your battle is with me," Konan said.

"Looks like this will get serious," Gai said. "Tenten, Lee, back me up. First Gate: Open!"

Hinata stopped forty feet apart from Konan and turned to face Neji. If he wanted to fight her, she wasn't going to back down. She hadn't in the Chunin exams, and she wasn't going to now. Since she had lost to him, she had only grown stronger. She would fight with everything she had.

"Hinata-sama," Neji said, and it was odd to hear the honorific on her name when she'd gone so long without hearing it. "Please come back to Konoha."

"I-I won't, Neji-san," she replied.

"Why?" he asked. She blinked, and took in a deep breath to steady herself.

"I was weak," she said, "in Konoha. Everyone looked down on me and didn't give me a chance to prove that I could b-become strong. I won't go back to being the little girl that needs t-to be protected."

"Hinata, Naruto-san beat me in the Chunin Exams," Neji said. Naruto had beat Neji? "He beat me for you. He told me where I could 'stuff that Fate crap'." He shook his head. "Your father told me after the fight that my dad chose to give his life away. I don't hate you any more."

She swallowed. Naruto had done the unthinkable; he had beat the Rookie-of-the-Year genius, her cousin. What a battle it must have been. Way to go, Naruto-kun. Thank you. "That's great, Neji," she replied, "but it doesn't change my decision to stay with the Akatsuki. I was weak in Konoha because everyone forced me into their expectations. I was weak not for a lack of strength or will, but because I was taught in one way. Now I even have a different style of fighting, unique to me."

Neji frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"I found a style that suits me. I won't go back to to the village when I've gotten so much better in so little time."

"What about Team Eight?" he asked softly.

"I... I will miss Shino and Kiba, but Kurenai-sensei didn't know how to teach me. She can't take me to the level I need to reach. My goal is to become the best ninja possible, because that is my Nindo."

"And Naruto?"

"I w-would like to thank him some day, but I could n-never have been together with him," she replied in a near whisper. She cleared her throat. "Fight me, Neji, if you want to take me back to Konoha." Neji nodded, and slid into the first of the Hyuuga fighting forms. Hinata bent her knees to lower her center of gravity.

"Byakugan!" Neji darted towards her. He was going to attempt the Sixty-Four Palm Strike. Hinata clicked open her chakra blades on her forearms and prepared herself to meet the attack. She pushed away his palms when he tried to jab at her, and now that she was inside his defense, she twisted her forearms out and struck him with her chakra blades. Her left arm missed, but her right arm struck his shoulder before he jumped back. He touched his shoulder and Hinata saw blood on his fingers.

"F-first strike," she murmured. She had never been the first one to land a hit in a fight. Tobi-sensei would be proud. Hinata was grateful for her improvement, but a part of her was sad that she had hurt Neji. _ I don't want to fight him anymore. I just want him to leave. _

Neji was looking at her with a new scrutiny, like he couldn't believe she had hit him first. His eyes narrowed at her. She wondered if he thought she was a traitor.

For a moment, Hinata wanted to surrender. She didn't want to be the enemy. _Strength isn't necessarily cruelty. _ Konan's words rang through her. That was right. She was fighting to protect her new home and the new people who were important to her. Tobi-sensei was a precious person to her, and if they took her to Konoha, she would never see him again. They would sit her down in an interrogation room and force her to tell everything she knew about the Akatsuki.

And if they took her away to Konoha, Leader-sama would kill Tobi. He had said so himself. She wasn't going to let Tobi die. Not today. "Water Style: River of Water Technique!" She inhaled deeply, and blew out a large stream of water directed at Neji. He jumped away from the water, but that was kind of the point. She inhaled and completed the jutsu a second and then a third time. Neji was right in place.

Hinata ran until she was standing on the water she had created. "Water Style: Hurricane Technique!" She ran through the four seals necessary and was swept up by her chakra-infused whirlwind of water. She rushed at Neji, who nearly escaped before her technique snatched him up. Hinata pulled him into the center of the water. With one gesture, his hands were ripped apart. Hinata wasn't going to let Neji finish another jutsu.

Neji pulled out a kunai and tried to slash at the water, at Hinata, but she kept a firm grip on the jutsu. She watched him abandon the kunai and try to push his hands out against anything solid, but he found nothing. She saw the panic reach his normally stoic eyes, darting everywhere and locking on Hinata before rolling back into his head.

Hinata waited a brief moment, and then canceled her jutsu. Neji's body slammed against the ground. Hinata raced over to him and leaned down next to him. _ Please, please be okay, Neji!_ She rested her hand just under his nose and shook with relief when she felt him exhale a breath.

Hinata pulled his body over to where Konan and Neji's team were fighting. "H-Hey!" she yelled, and they soon halted the attack on each other. "N-Neji's down. He d-drowned in my jutsu. If you want to save him, t-take him now. I don't think he can hold out much l-longer with-without a m-medic nin." Tenten was the fastest one over to Hinata and took him from her. She looked into Hinata's eyes, and Hinata saw fear and betrayal in them. Hinata stepped back. "Hurry," she said. Tenten nodded.

Gai came and took Neji from her, and they ran away from Hinata and Konan. Hinata watched their quickly retreating forms.

"Good job," Konan said. Hinata looked away. She might never know if Neji survived until half of the Hyuuga clan and Konoha came after her for revenge. Konan handed Hinata the bag of rice and they made their way peacefully back to the base.

During dinner that night, Konan recounted the experience to the others.

"Neji Hyuuga was Rookie of the Year, I believe," Itachi said. "Congratulations." Hinata nodded at the compliment, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

Tobi jumped up from his seat and gave Hinata a squeezing hug from behind. "Tobi is so proud of Hinata-chan! She's so strong!" Hinata squeaked and her face turned red. Konan, who was sitting next to Hinata, pushed him off of her.

"Don't become a mushy wreck." She smiled at Hinata. "We do have quite the upcoming shinobi, though." Hinata did smile at that, a little bit.

* * *

After another week of intense training, Tobi gave her time off in the afternoon. The first two days, Hinata used the time to hit her futon and catch up on sleep. The third, day, however, she felt well-rested enough to wander around the base.

She was looking for Konan but couldn't manage to find her. Hinata poked her head into the medical room and saw Sasori shelving some poison antidotes. Hinata hesitated. She and Sasori didn't really know each other, but there was a question she had wanted to ask him. Hinata lingered by the door.

"What do you want?" Sasori asked, closing the shelf door and turning towards Hinata.

She gulped, and sucked in a breath. "A-ano, if it's not t-too much of a bother... would Sasori-san be willing to show me a few beginner healing jutsu?" she asked.

Sasori leaned against the counter. "Of course, as long as you aren't an idiot. Teaching you basic healing would mean one less person I have to deal with." He signaled for her to take a seat on the medical table and grabbed a thick textbook from off another shelf. He sat next to her and opened to one of the first pages.

"First, I want you to study basic human anatomy. You know the chakra points on the body well, I assume, from being a Hyuuga, but I want you to notice major tendons and arteries in the body. Once you have these memorized," he flipped the page, "I want you to read these next ten pages about inside the body, close up. It will show you how healing works on a cellular level and build up to how tissue and organs function. Once you've finished, come see me again and we'll work on the Healer's Palm." He closed the book and gave it to Hinata. "Off you go." She obediently left to go leaf through the fascinating book.

Hinata was back in Sasori's healing room two days later. "I'm done," she told him, and handed back the book. Sasori gave her a severe look, and then an impromptu quiz. Hinata's answers were apparently to his satisfaction, because he gestured for her to take a seat. He reached into a shelf and pulled out a frozen petri dish.

"Watch me closely, and do as I do," he said. He made the signs for boar, dog, and crow. "Healer's Palm!" His right hand was covered in a layer of green chakra. Hinata made the same signs.

"Healer's Palm!" A green spark jumped out from her palm and stung her. "Ah!"

Sasori smirked. "It does tend to do that at first. Why don't you practice on that while I go collect more samples?" Hinata nodded. For the next three hours as she practiced, Sasori was in and out of the room for various reasons. When he wanted to freeze something, he did a simple ice technique and placed it on a shelf. Hinata made a mental note to ask Tobi-sensei when they could move on to ice and mist techniques.

"I got it!" Hinata announced triumphantly upon Sasori's next return. Her hand was enveloped by a layer of green chakra.

"Very good, Hinata-san," Sasori said. He pulled off the lid of the petri dish that had been thawing next to her. "This is a sample of the top layer of skin," he said, and Hinata resisted a shudder. Who had Sasori taken a 'sample' from?

Sasori took out a kunai and sliced it apart. "Now, use your Healer's Palm to speed up the rate of healing and growth, then merge the cells together." Hinata gave a tense nod, and brought her hand towards the petri dish.

"Yo, Hinata-chan!" Tobi burst into the room and Hinata jerked back in surprise. "Ready for more training?"

Sasori threw a ninja star past Tobi's cheek. Tobi squeaked and took a half step back in surprise. "We are doing important work, you oaf," Sasori said, standing and walking towards him. "Interrupt us again and I will send burning venom through your veins." Sasori shut the door in Tobi's face and turned back to Hinata. He took a calming breath.

"Begin again."

Hinata practiced her Healing Palm for the rest of the day. When Sasori finally released her to go make dinner, she found a sulking Tobi outside the door. "Would you like some mashed potatoes, Tobi-sensei?" she offered.

He leapt to his feet, the offense forgotten. "Hai, Hinata-chan!" Hinata went to the kitchen to start, humming to herself. She was so glad that Sasori had agreed to teach her. She didn't want to disappoint him or Tobi.

"After dinner, why don't we have another training session, just for today?" she asked.

"Yeah! Tobi-sensei has something new to show Hinata-chan," he smiled.

* * *

Hinata felt pleased as she headed to Sasori's healing room. She had mentioned wanting to learn ice techniques, and Tobi had agreed that she was more than ready to take a few on.

From down the hall, though, she heard raised voices. As she approached, she realized one of the voices was Sasori's. Hinata frowned. He didn't seem like someone who really enjoyed fighting. As she turned into the medical room, she saw that the other person was Deidara.

Hinata hadn't spoken to Deidara much. He was like Itachi and Kisame, almost always out on a mission. As she walked in she had to duck an explosion. "Don't tell me what real art is, un!" Deidara spat. Sasori threw a needle at Deidara and sliced his cheek.

"Guess what? You're lucky. That first one wasn't poisoned. But the next one will be. I didn't invite you into my office to get into another fight. Leave." Sasori's voice was like ice.

"You're the one who told me to come here, un! I'm out!" Deidara stormed away.

Sasori seemed to notice Hinata for the first time. "Ah, Hinata-san. Shall we begin where we left off yesterday?" She nodded, and he pulled out another petri dish.

"Ano, I don't want to pry, Sasori-san, but what-"

"We argue. Often. He has the nerve to call his mashed-together exploding birds 'art'. Real art is something that can last forever, something built to last even against the sands of time," Sasori said. "Deidara is absolutely ridiculous."

"No, Tobi is absolutely ridiculous," Hinata corrected, and then wondered why she had said such a thing. Sasori chuckled, though, so she figured it was a safe comment.

"I won't disagree with you there," he replied, and set the petri dish in front of her. After another twenty minutes of working on samples, Sasori stopped her and handed her a kunai.

"Now it's time to do it for real," he said. "Make a light incision on your skin, and then heal it." Hinata swallowed and cleared her throat. She pushed back her nerves as she accepted the weapon. She needed to have steady hands for this.

Hinata made the cut and set the kunai down. "Healer's Palm!" She made the hand seals and rested her green-tinged hand above the wound. The wound started to heal up before her eyes. Soon there wasn't even a blemish. It was amazing!

"Congratulations, Hinata-san," Sasori said.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Sasori-san!" Hinata grinned.

Sasori smiled back at her. "Keep practicing on your own, and tell me if you want to take it to the next step. Be ready for my call; the next time one of us is injured, you're helping me." Hinata couldn't help a giggle.

"Hai!"

"Now go tell Tobi. I need to focus, and you're a distraction at the moment." Hinata accepted the excuse and raced around the base until she found Tobi outside. He was hanging upside down from a tree.

"Tobi-sensei? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Tobi is increasing his endurance!" he said. "Hinata-chan should join him." She grinned, and soon joined him on the same branch. Hinata had never done anything so foolish before, but it was fun. She was sure that Tobi was grinning underneath his mask, too.

She sometimes wondered why he never took his mask off, but if there was one thing she had learned, it was that everyone in the Akatsuki had some weird personality tick. The mask was just part of Tobi's.

"Hey, Tobi-sensei, guess what?"

"What, Hinata-chan?"

"I've completed the Healer's Palm!"

"Eeeeh?" Tobi fell out of the tree and hit the ground. Hinata laughed. "Great job, Hinata-chan! I knew you could do it. So fast, too. Most medic nin in training are slower than you." Hinata jumped off the branch and landed softly on the ground.

"I know. Sasori-san is a good teacher."

Tobi gasped. "He's- he's not going to replace Tobi-sensei, is he?" Tobi asked.

"Of course not. Tobi-sensei is the best," she affirmed.

He squeaked and seemed to blush. "I'm going to tell Deidara-sempai! Deidaraaaaaaa!" Tobi raced off.

"Oh," Hinata said. "Deidara-san isn't in a very good mood today." She probably should have warned Tobi. Oh well. It wasn't like Tobi hadn't given her plenty of beatings during their sparring matches. He could use a little reminder.

* * *

#Authortime: Thanks to those who reviewed! You guys are awesome. This was a really fun chapter! I'm considering updating the story twice a week instead of once a week. Drop me a review if you want me to, okay? Have a great day, peeps!


	4. Mission in Suna

Hinata had just come back with Konan after shopping one day when she felt something was a bit... off at the base. She had been with the Akatsuki for about six months now, and today of all days, she felt a vibrating tension in the air.

"Sit down at the table," Konan told her, taking the groceries. "I'll be out of the kitchen in a minute." Hinata sat stiffly, unable to shake the feeling. She sat for about a minute in silence.

Then it was shattered. Tobi jumped out from under the table, "HAPPY CHUNIN DAY, HINATA-CHAN! SURPRISE!" Hinata fell over backwards in her chair and scrambled to get back up. Tobi had been so loud she was surprised all of Konoha didn't hear.

"Are you alright?" Sasori asked, as he, too, crept out from under the table. Konan walked in carrying a lit cake.

"Wh-wh-what is all of this?" Hinata asked. Pein, too, came out from the kitchen, as did Hidan and Itachi.

"Today is the day we officially mark Hinata-chan as a chunin."

"But... I'm not a chunin," Hinata said. The others took a seat around the table. Itachi flipped open a book and pushed it towards her. She took a look and was surprised to see her own face and details about herself.

"This is an ANBU bingo book. I stole it off of one on my last mission," Itachi explained. "It's a log of missing nin, targets if you will."

"Since missing nin don't get to enter the chunin exams for any village, we have our own way of picking out levels. Hinata-chan is now in the Bingo book as a B-ranked missing nin. Since only chunin and higher can take B-ranked missions, Hinata-chan is officially a chunin!" Tobi said. "So we decided to celebrate!"

"More like Tobi decided to celebrate and roped us all into helping," Hidan grumbled. Konan elbowed him in the stomach.

"Congratulations, Hinata-san. Blow out the candles," Konan said.

"Yeah, I'm starving, un!" Deidara put his two cents in. So Hinata snuffed out the candles and they all descended upon the cake until there was nothing left.

"Since you're chunin-level now," Pein said, "you'll start accompanying some of the Akatsuki on missions. Be careful, Hinata-san." Hinata's breath hitched. She was going to help them out on missions now? Dangerous, S-ranked missions?

"You'll be fine, Hinata-san," Konan told her with a reassuring smile. "You've gotten much stronger from what I've seen."

"Yeah, yeah! And if you get into a tough spot, we'll help out!" Tobi added. "We're stronger than anybody else!"

"Well, some of us are, anyways," Hidan said, and Deidara snickered in agreement. Hinata's eyes crinkled. Maybe it would be fun to get out of the base once in a while and go on missions again. She hadn't been on a real mission since before she'd left Konoha.

* * *

The next week, Hinata got her chance. Pein assigned her to go with Tobi and Deidara to Suna. Tobi got her a traveling pack and showed her his 'secret sliding panel of awesome ninja tools'. She thanked him, and they left to go meet Deidara.

"Ready to go?" Deidara asked.

Tobi skipped right past him out the door. "Are you coming, Deidara-senpai?"

"You little-"

"Last one there's a rotten egg!"

"Idiot! You can't get there in a single night!" Deidara charged after Tobi. Hinata gave a small sigh, and then charged her feet with chakra before she took off after them. Was she going to be the only cool-headed one on the mission?

When they stopped for the night, Deidara started a fire. As the flames reached higher and higher, Hinata became concerned. "Ano, Deidara-san, i-isn't the fire a little large?"

"Don't worry, I'm going to make it wider too, un!" A corner of Hinata's mouth twitched. So Deidara was a pyromaniac. It shouldn't come as a surprise to her anymore...

"Hey, Hinata-chan, come over here by me!" Tobi waved to her. She still wanted to do something about the fire, but if Deidara had lived this long he had to be capable of taking care of the fire before it got too out of hand. She walked over to Tobi.

"Sit!" he said, and pointed to the sleeping bag he had rolled out. He sat down across from her. "Hold out your hands," he said, "it's time to paint each other's nails!" Hinata nearly fell over.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"Since this is our first mission together, we treat it like a sleepover!"

"R-really?" she turned to Deidara. She had noticed that most of the Akatsuki members seemed to paint their nails.

Deidara rolled his visible eye. "No. We don't. We do paint our nails, though. Something about the claws of death removing our enemies. It's kind of cool, un." He held up one hand, showing his black nails.

"Which color should we use for Hinata-chan?" Tobi asked, raising the box of nail polish he'd brought. "I don't know..."

"Use purple," Deidara said, walking over and plucking the color out of Tobi's hands. "Scoot over," he told Tobi, and pushed him off the sleeping bag. He ignored Tobi's squawk of outrage and gestured to Hinata. "Give me your hands." She reached out hesitantly.

"Hinata-chan!" Tobi sounded scandalized. "How can you betray your sensei?"

"Put a sock in it, lollipop-face. A job like this must be handled by an artist, un. You lack a delicate hand for fine detail. Can you even see in color?"

"I can so," Tobi said, and sat next to the fire to mope. Deidara grinned in victory and leaned forward to focus on Hinata's hand.

Deidara started to paint her nails purple. She tried not to blush, but she'd never had someone hold her hands in such a respectful way. "You have beautiful cuticles, Hinata-san," Deidara told her. She turned red.

"Th-thank you." She looked away.

"It is quite the compliment; I don't know anyone who trains as hard as you do and still keeps them looking nice." Hinata shrugged in response.

When Deidara finished with the purple, he pulled out the black, white, and red colors of nail polish. "Do you mind if I add a bit more onto it?" he asked. Hinata shook her head.

Deidara painted a flower in each color onto her purple nails. "There," he nodded when he was done. "Hinata's color is purple, un, and the Akatsuki's colors are white, red, and black." He let go of her hands and leaned back, satisfied.

"Ano, D-Deidara-san?"

"Yes?"

"Um, if it's okay... can I ask why you have a m-mouth on each of your hands?" Hinata asked.

He grinned. "I stole somebody else's jutsu, and the hands are a result of when I combined theirs with my kekkei genkai, un! I really like them, but they sometimes take my food when I'm not looking." Tobi snickered from over by the fire. Deidara ignored him. "They chew my exploding chakra and infuse my clay with it." Hinata nodded in understanding.

There was a moment of silence. Then Tobi broke it by jumping up and running over to them. "Hey, Deidara-senpai, let me and Hinata-chan do up your hair! This is a sleepover, after all!" He made a grab for Deidara, who jumped up and out of the way.

"Don't touch me! How can you act like such a four-year-old all the time? We're the Akatsuki! How can we be respected and feared when you run around acting like a little girl, un?" Deidara evaded Tobi's lunges. "Why couldn't Sasori-no-Danna come with us instead?"

"Because Tobi wanted to go out! He's been grounded for foreveeeeeeer!"

"Baka! Sasori will teach you how long forever lasts. He'll cut off your limbs!"

Hinata chose to ignore that last comment and poured some water into a pot to boil. They could have instant ramen for dinner.

They made it into Suna the next day. Hinata was wishing that she'd grabbed a cloak to help keep out the sand, but the only ones they'd had at the base had been Akatsuki ones, and she wasn't sure that she had a right to wear them yet. She didn't know that she had the desire to, either.

"So, we should probably divide the mission up between us," Deidara said. "We need to steal a forbidden scroll, find out who they are looking at to become Kazekage, and leave a half-hidden trail for potential clients to find us through." Hinata paid careful attention to him. Pein hadn't explained the mission to her, he'd only told her that she'd be joining Tobi and Deidara on it.

"Hinata-san, I want you to get the scroll. Can you do it?" Deidara asked.

"Where is it?"

"It should be in a locked portion of the library."

"Okay, I'll do my best," she promised.

"Alright. Tobi, you find the Kazekage candidates, and I'll leave the trail for clients. Understood?" Deidara had been taking on a more mature attitude the closer they got to the destination of their mission. Hinata relaxed her shoulders. She was glad he knew what he was doing. Now that they had a plan, the mission didn't sound so difficult.

All she had to do was break into a library. At least it wasn't a prison or something, right?

Deidara and Tobi performed the henge to look more like nondescript travelers than wanted S-ranked criminals. He altered all of their headbands to look like normal Leaf ninja, since Hinata would be able to blend in better pretending to be what she once was: a Konoha shinobi.

"Do we have a cover story?" Hinata asked.

"Just come up with something clever," Deidara told her. "It's Tobi who needs work on a believable story." Tobi protested at that. "Oh, really? Tell us why you're in Suna, Tobi."

"I'm a great spirit descending in mortal form to give my blessing to Suna."

"Ridiculous," Deidara said.

"I'm a member of Akatsuki in disguise coming to find out who the next Kazekage is."

"That's the truth, you moron!"

"I'm a clown from a traveling circus and got separated from my caravan in a sandstorm."

"You're pathe- hey, that's actually believable. Stick with that one, un."

"Hai! Tobi wins!"

Deidara sighed. "I suppose you did."

The trio was upon the village by the afternoon. They flashed the guards their fake I.D. (Deidara had given Hinata hers) and entered the village without a problem.

That is, until Hinata accidentally hit someone with her elbow, trying to shake out some more sand. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

"You're... from the Chunin Exams." Hinata blinked. It was the red head from the exams. The one who had slaughtered a team from Grass while Hinata and her team hid in the bushes. She flinched.

"Y-yes."

"Naruto cheered for you, didn't he? It was because of your defeat that he was able to defeat the other Hyuuga in the tournament."

"R-really?" Hinata knew she should be catching up to Deidara and Tobi, but this could be her only opportunity to learn more about her village for a long time. "How did he do in the tournament? I wasn't able to see."

"He faced against the Hyuuga first, and defeated him. It was in the middle of my battle that- well, I suppose the rest is history. The tournament was still in its first stages when we began the first attack." What attack? What had happened in Konoha while Hinata had been training with Tobi-sensei?

She swallowed her curiosity and nodded. "Right. Well, I can't fall behind, or I'll get l-lost. I'll see you around, maybe." Hopefully not. She didn't need another insanely-powerful, slightly unhinged shinobi for a companion. She already had plenty to choose from in the Akatsuki.

He nodded. "Let me know if you need anything." He turned away. That was it? Where was the killer intent from before? He seemed more balanced, now.

Hinata wasn't going to complain. She ran after Deidara and caught up to him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Sorry, I ran into someone," she said.

"Someone we need to worry about?" Deidara asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Tobi took off to start his mission, or at least, that's what he said he was doing," Deidara told her. "Hopefully he'll curb his distracting impulses."

"We'll see," Hinata replied doubtfully.

After a minute or so, Deidara broke the silence. "He's goofing off, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so."

* * *

Deidara and Hinata ended up going to a dango stand before going to the room they had rented. He nearly slapped his hand when it bit off a piece of his dango, and Hinata couldn't help laughing as he lowly insulted his hand and threatened to cut it off for being so disobedient.

Deidara had decided that it would be easier to lay his trail at night, when it was cooler and there were less people about. Hinata had found that the library was open for most of the day and night, so she had decided to wait as well. Wait, and take a shower to wash off all the sand.

By the time she exited, the sun was fading over Suna. Hinata yawned and sat down across from Deidara. He wasn't as reckless as she had first thought when she had walked in on his and Sasori's argument. If anything, he seemed to respect Sasori. It was like more of a rivalry the two had built against each other.

Hinata passed the time by practicing origami with the paper she'd brought with her and making tea for herself and Deidara. She was in the middle of her sixth crane when Tobi finally entered.

"Tobi, did you find out who the Kazekage candidates are?"

Tobi flinched. "Ehehe... no?" Deidara walked over to the window and opened it. They were on the third story of the hotel.

"Jump. Get out now."

Tobi squeaked and hid behind Hinata. "Don't let him hurt me, Hinata-chan! I'm your only sensei, remember?"

"Ah, she'll get a new one," Deidara waved a hand nonchalantly, but the effect was ruined for Hinata when the tongue on the hand lulled out.

"Sorry, Deidara-senpai. You can't just t-toss him out of the building. There are, um, witnesses around. We'd be n-noticed." Hinata said.

"You're probably right, un." He glared at Tobi. "We're leaving. By the time we get back here, you'd better have gotten started on your mission."

Hinata had split up from Deidara almost as soon as they had left the building. She walked down the streets alone. There was hardly a soul out, but then again, it was pretty late. Hinata marveled at the difference in temperature from day to night as a cool breeze brushed against her cheek.

"Hello again, Hyuuga-san." Hinata jerked at the sound. It was the red-haired boy from earlier. She straightened and took a calming breath.

"Hello. I don't believe I know y-your name," she said.

"I am Sabaku no Gaara."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You as well. How is Naruto doing?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen h-him in a while myself. We've both been on, um, missions."

Gaara nodded. "What brings you this way?"

"I want to look up a-a few things in your library. I've heard Suna has a very different selection of scrolls from Konoha."

"I see. What are you looking for?"

"Some genin-level earth techniques. N-nothing serious or anything. I'll know better after I see the library, I think." Gaara nodded again, and they walked towards the library together.

"A-ano, if it isn't personal or anything... how did you change?" Hinata asked. Normally she wouldn't ask such things, but she needed to distract him before he caught on to her real mission.

"That's Naruto's doing, actually." Gaara replied. "During our invasion he caught up with me and attacked me. He's much stronger than he looks. When he fought me, he told me some things that made me understand that I would never truly be happy accepting myself as a monster." Why was Gaara considered a monster? Hinata wasn't going to pry that far, but she did wonder.

"He's getting stronger." She wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement.

"He is," Gaara agreed. Hinata smiled a little. Good. Hinata was getting stronger, and so was Naruto. Someday she would see him again, and thank him for giving her light in a dark, hate-filled world.

They entered the library, and Hinata started looking up earth techniques. Her brow furrowed as she opened yet another scroll. How was she supposed to get Gaara to leave so she could find the forbidden scroll? She put it away and pulled another one out.

"I'll go downstairs to find some taijutsu books," Gaara said.

"Okay." He left. Hinata waited a moment.

"Byakugan!" she whispered, closing the scroll and running up the stairs. She turned a corner and dashed to the end of the hallway. The door was locked.

"Earth-level genjutsu, huh?" Hinata stiffened, and turned towards Gaara. So looking for taijutsu books had been a ploy. She shouldn't have fallen for it.

"You're very light on your feet," she said. Or he simply floated up to the second floor using his sand techniques, which was more likely.

"You're Hinata Hyuuga, the missing nin from Konoha. I recognized you when you walked in through our gates. The guarding shinobi are sloppy, it seems."

Hinata shrugged. "I had professional help," she murmured.

"Why are you really here?" More sand poured out from his gourd.

"I'm on a mission. Isn't that why shinobi usually go places?" Hinata didn't give him time to respond. "Water Style: Water Snake jutsu!" She exhaled and the water formed a whipping snake. Hinata turned and spat water onto the lock of the door.

"Ice Style: Gentle Breath!" Her breath froze the water, and with a chakra-enhanced kick, the door slammed open. Before Hinata could take a step, sand snaked up her foot and yanked her back.

"Sand coffin!" Gaara commanded, and Hinata flashed her hands through the seals before she was captured in the technique.

"Water Style: Hurricane Technique!" Hinata's jutsu struck out at the sand holding her and sucked it away. She had mastered the technique and no longer needed to create water beforehand to use it.

Hinata dropped to the ground and threw her hurricane at Gaara. She closed the door behind her and iced it shut with her Gentle Breath, and broke open the closet holding the scroll. The wood below her turned to mud and started to suck her in. The closet had been trapped; Hinata's rush had made her careless.

Instead of flailing, she tied ninja wire from herself to a shuriken and threw it into the ceiling to slow her descent. Next, she pulled out her chakra-infused water from the flask at her side and placed it into the mud below her, disrupting the chakra flow of the jutsu. Hinata pulled the moisture out from the mud, and it turned to dirt. She stepped out of the dirt pit and grabbed the sealed scroll before sand slammed through the door and caught her wrist.

She passed the scroll to her free hand and sealed it away into another scroll, which she secured to her hip. She was pulled back through the door towards Gaara by the sand. "Why did you leave your village?" Gaara asked. A strange question to ask your opponent. Naruto must have changed his heart completely.

"There was nothing left for me in my village," she replied, and slipped out a square, inch-long piece of paper. She was in too deep over her head. She only had the capacity to fight Gaara, to distract him. Hinata wasn't strong enough to beat him yet. She bit her finger and slid her blood across the paper.

A clay bird appeared and flew through the sand to land on Gaara's forehead. Then it exploded.

Hinata jumped past Gaara and slid down the barrister of the library. Sand yanked her back, a sea of it, and forced her to turn and face Gaara once more. The layer of sand over Gaara's face was cracked and broken. A trickle of blood ran down from his forehead.

She hadn't known what the seal Deidara gave her would do. He had told her to use it in an emergency. If it had been anyone except the red-headed shinobi with a hard layer of protection, they would be dead now. Deidara used lethal force. Hinata would have to remember that.

She flashed through a series of hand seals. She had just enough chakra for one more jutsu. One more, and then she would be at the fate of the Suna shinobi until the ninja from Konoha took her back to the village to imprison her there.

It would have to work. "Water Style: Imperial Tsunami Strike!" Moisture from the air gathered to Hinata, and the water from her previous techniques returned to her. A jet of water spurted into being from Hinata's mouth until it formed a large wall, and then became a wave that slammed into Gaara. His sand dropped into mud, and he was blown off his feet and smacked into the back wall before dropping to the ground on his knees.

Gaara coughed out water. Hinata turned and started towards the door, but a chain of sand cuffed itself to her. Gaara got to his feet, and though his feet were shaky, his sand was firm. The sand was extracting the water from itself, slow but constant. Hinata couldn't escape. Her hands were separated and covered in sand, and the chains of sand around her arms only became thicker. As she was forced to the barrister, she fought tears and then went to the ground.

He started to pull her up the banister, and Hinata shot out a leg and wrapped it around part of the banister. Her other leg wrapped around the leg of the banister, and she held onto it tightly with both legs. She was not going back to Konoha. Tobi would be killed, either by Pein or by the Sand shinobi in an effort to rescue Hinata.

She didn't care that she no longer looked like a ninja, no longer held grace by any portion in her body. The sand was pulling her away from the banister, but she locked her legs and held them strong, though her legs screamed at her with pain and told her she had dislocated something. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus. She was slipping!

The library doors slammed open behind her and a clay bird flew towards Gaara. Another one landed on a tendril of sand and exploded. When the sand collapsed, Hinata hit the ground with it. She let go of her hold on the banister, but she couldn't get up. She couldn't even struggle to her knees.

Deidara threw out a few more birds and scooped Hinata up with one arm. He swung and dropped her onto a large clay bird. Hinata almost fell off of it, but Tobi grabbed her and helped her steady onto the bird.

"Katsu!" Deidara exploded a few more birds and jumped on with them. The bird flew out of the library. Hinata watched as they flew above the library. "Katsu!" Deidara yelled once more, and the entire library exploded. "Yeah!"

Hinata was shaking, her blood was rushing and she could hear it in her ears. Deidara had blown up the whole building. Gaara was probably fine, his sand was the best defense Hinata had ever seen. She let herself relax, and then a laugh tore from her throat.

Was this what Kiba meant when he'd told her about blood rush, the excitement that came from a fight? Hinata laughed again, and turned to Deidara and grinned. He grinned back. "That was art," he said, "in its truest form." Somehow, Hinata couldn't disagree.

* * *

Well, how do you like that chapter? Sorry it's late, everyone. I'll probably do a second update later this week. I've been off looking for a job (and now I have one! Woot!). Thanks for reading! Please review!

(MUAHAHAHA! I have followers.)


	5. Itachi Uchiha

"You blew up a library." It wasn't a question. Deidara tried to hold back a snicker. "Did I mention anything about stealth to you? The dogs of Suna are going to be sniffing your trail until they find everything. They won't give up for months, or until they discover the whole mission. I told you to be discreet." Pein glared at them. "None of you are prepared to lead a mission. Deidara, you're back with Sasori. Tobi, you and Hinata will never go on the same mission again. Dismissed." All three drooped and exited Pein's office in silence.

As they rounded the corridor and were out of Pein's earshot, Deidara turned to them. "Still awesome, though." A corner of Hinata's mouth twitched, but she remained silent. "Wait until I tell Sasori-danna." Twitch, twitch.

Deidara sighed. "Catch you two later. Don't stay mad at me forever, 'kay?" He left, presumably to fill Sasori in on their short adventure. Hinata still couldn't believe they had completed their mission in such a short amount of time. The Akatsuki really were that good.

Tobi sniffled. Hinata put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Tobi-sensei. We'll still train together. You're my sensei." She smiled at him. "Besides, I'm sure Pein will become more relaxed after some successful, low-profile missions. Don't lose hope." Tobi nodded.

Tobi snickered. "Deidara-senpai's pretty funny." Tobi and Hinata broke down into giggles right there in the middle of the hallway. Kakuzu passed them by and raised one eyebrow before continuing on his path. Hinata had a feeling she had just been moved into the 'insane' category of his mind, but she was laughing too hard to care.

When they straightened and got their breath back, Tobi looked at her. "Let's not tell Deidara-senpai we've forgiven him yet." Hinata agreed, and took a happy step towards the kitchen before pain shot through her knee.

"Ah, Tobi-sensei?"

"Yes, Hinata-chan?"

"Help me to Sasori-san's room. I'm injured."

* * *

Hinata went to the store with Konan later. Konan asked how the mission had gone, and Hinata- despite her usual quietness- recounted the whole experience, including her fight against Gaara.

"You did well, Hinata-chan," Konan told her.

"Eh? N-no, I didn't do well at all." It surprised Hinata that Konan would say such a thing. "He b-beat me, easily."

"Sabaku no Gaara... was born with a power most shinobi could only dream of achieving," Konan told her. "You did very well to hold out against him as long as you did. Gaara has even taken out jonin without a struggle." Hinata absorbed that while they went shopping throughout the town. Hinata was relieved to have a relaxing moment after the dangerous mission. She was no longer excited to go out on her next mission.

As luck would have it, after another two weeks of rest, Hinata was chosen to join Itachi and Kisame on their mission. Hinata found out the night before during dinner.

Tobi followed Hinata after dinner to their room and found Hinata leaning against the wall. "He's... he's going to kill me."

"Who is?" Tobi asked.

"Itachi." Truth be told, Hinata had avoided some of the others up to this point. Itachi had made Number One on the evasion list. It wasn't that Hinata didn't believe Konan when she had told Hinata she was safe from Itachi. It was just that the man had murdered his whole family, and Hinata couldn't get over it. All of Konoha had been in an uproar for months, and nearly every time they saw the only survivor, Sasuke, the civilians still brought up the massacre. It wasn't like the Hyuuga and Uchiha ever got along before the massacre either.

"Hinata-chan will be fine."

"I... I really won't."

"Itachi's not too much fun to play with and he never laughs at Tobi's jokes. He's a stick in the mud, and... what was Tobi saying?"

"You were telling me he wasn't going to kill me." Tobi could be absent-minded some days. Half the time Hinata thought he did it just to test if people were actually listening to him. Most of the time, they weren't, and then he would go mope in the corner until someone coaxed him out or until he forgot the injustice.

"Itachi-kun is boring, but he won't kill you. He had a... vendetta against the Uchiha." Hinata doubted that Tobi knew the meaning of the word 'vendetta'.

She sighed. "If I die, Tobi-sensei gets my rights as the Hyuuga heiress."

"Hooray! Tobi gets to- what?" Hinata smiled. Now she felt a little better. Just a bit. She supposed she would find out how awful it was in the morning.

* * *

The next day came much too early for Hinata's liking, but she slid out of bed and went to breakfast all the same. She nodded to Konan (for some reason, the two nearly always went to eat breakfast at the same time) and started eating her rice. Konan gave her a knowing glance, and as the woman finished her food, she gave Hinata a reassuring touch on the shoulder.

Hinata was packed and waiting by the front of the base by the time the sun started to color the sky. Itachi and Kisame came by the door and nodded to her. "Let's go," Itachi said. Hinata nodded.

"Wait!" They paused as Tobi ran up to them. "Itachi-kun, Kisame-kun, please teach Hinata-chan a new jutsu on your journey! For Tobi?" Kisame rolled his eyes.

"We'll do our best," Itachi replied, and turned away. Hinata sighed. She should have expected Tobi to ask a favor of the other two.

"Bye, Hinata-chan! Don't get eaten by giant bugs!" Tobi had too much of a wild imagination. Hinata waved goodbye to him anyways.

Iwagakure was a three day's journey away from the base. After the first half hour of quiet, Hinata realized that it was going to be a peaceful kind of journey. Tobi was right, Itachi was the stoic kind of person, and it seemed as though Kisame-san didn't have anything to say at the moment.

An hour into the journey, Hinata started fiddling with her fingers. It was weird after being with Tobi almost constantly to be thrown into the presence of other quiet people. She had almost forgotten that they existed. It was starting to throw her back to when she lived with the Hyuuga. Her clan prized dignity and stillness over almost everything else. They highly criticized the noise of outside the compound, and rebuked Hinata and Hanabi when they were noisy as small children. It was why Hinata had become quiet and reserved so early in her life. People praised a well-behaved child.

But well-behaved people were boring. No one had ever told her that. Well, perhaps Kiba had once, but Hinata had dismissed it as a foolish idea then. Would she ever be able to tell him he had been right?

At that moment she started to miss Kiba's loud and hilarious attitude, and Shino's dry sarcasm. Shino had understood Hinata, but wasn't afraid to calmly state his opinion and bring Kiba back from some of his more wild ideas. Hinata had sat back and smiled contently at her teammates' antics.

Hinata had lied to Gaara. There was something in Konoha for her still. Kiba, Shino, and Naruto. What had led her to the idea that death was better than being clan-less?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Regret had no place in the life of a shinobi. One must keep moving forward, or else be lost in the past. Hinata was with the Akatsuki now. She had chosen the life she wanted to take, and this life had chosen her. Why else would she be here?

Hinata needed to distract herself. She silently pulled out a piece of origami paper and started to fold it as they traveled. Maybe she would impress Konan by the time they got back to the base. It wasn't like Hinata lacked the time.

* * *

The night passed uneventfully, and the next day, after traveling for several hours, Itachi called for a break just outside a smaller village. "Hinata-san," he said, "would you like to learn something new?"

Kisame groaned. "That's why we stopped?" he asked. "Give me a break. I'll be in the village, Itachi."

"Don't do anything rash," Itachi said. Kisame nodded and left. Itachi turned back to Hinata. "Well?" This was the first time since the mission had begun that he had talked to her directly.

"Y-yes," she murmured.

"What would you like to learn?" Hinata's mind scrambled for an answer that would please Itachi.

"Wh-what would you l-like to t-teach?" That was a bad question. What if he chose a fatal technique and wanted her to practice on the townspeople? What if he decided to try to teach her through the Mangekyou Sharingan?

"Most shinobi rely on their eyesight," he said, "but your other senses are just as important and shouldn't be neglected." Hinata nodded. Kiba had said about as much when he was training to follow people by their scents. "Would training you to hone your other senses be acceptable, Hinata-san?"

Train a Hyuuga, the ones with the eyes that can see through buildings and the chakra pathways of others, to learn how to fight without their eyes? "Hai, Itachi-san." Someday, it could happen. She could be left blind. Hinata had left her Hyuuga pride back in Konoha.

Itachi nodded. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Try to point in the direction I'm in." Hinata closed her eyes, and tried to focus on Itachi's footsteps. She strained her ears, but she heard nothing.

A tap came on her shoulder. Hinata squeaked and jumped back. Her eyes flew open in surprise. "Hm, you didn't hear me?" Itachi asked.

"N-no." Being in the middle of the forest with no one around except for Itachi Uchiha while keeping her eyes closed was not her best idea. Hinata tried to calm her racing heart and sucked in a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked.

"O-of c-c-course." Hinata was perfectly okay, except for the fact that this entire exercise was suicidal. Why did Itachi Uchiha have to be the one person in the Akatsuki who listened to Tobi's idiocy?

"Let's try again. Just point." Oh, Hinata had just signed up for multiple heart attacks. If she miraculously made it back to the base without dying first, she was going to string up Tobi by his ankles and let Deidara have free range with his explosives. Deidara had said something about needing a new practice dummy.

Hinata pointed to her right. And felt a tap at her back. She almost fell forward, and had to take a step to steady herself.

Point. Tap. Point. Tap. Point. Tap. Even by the law of probable odds, she should have gotten one right by now. Her heartbeat was so loud she was surprised that Itachi didn't comment on it.

Point. Tap. Hinata whirled, and heard Itachi take a few steps left. She jabbed a finger at him. "Would you stop that?!"

"Correct, Hinata-san. Do it again." She had got it right? Did that one actually count? She heard a step behind her and whirled. Itachi poked her collarbone instead of her back. She squeaked and blushed.

"Again." Even if Hinata couldn't always hear his steps, she could also hear the rush of wind as Itachi flickered around her. She was doing better, but she still missed two hits in three. Still, she was improving. By the time Kisame returned, Hinata had improved to fifty percent or better.

"Good job. Open your eyes, Hinata-san. I will continue to test you on this trip, and I will become stealthier," Itachi said. Hinata nodded.

"Oi, Itachi! Guess what? Your little brother ran off from his village and joined Orochimaru. How cute." Kisame said.

"Sasuke?" Itachi blinked.

"Yeah. In a couple of years, he won't be around."

Itachi shrugged. "I don't care if I have to pluck out the eyes from Sasuke or from Orochimaru inhabiting his body. They will become mine, once he reaches a higher level." Hinata flinched. Itachi looked over her way. "We'd better keep going, if that's alright."

Hinata gave a short nod, and they started off again. Only, while she was folding paper, she felt a tap on her left shoulder. She looked, but Itachi had flickered back to his place in front of her again.

She might have to ask Hidan-san to come up with something more violent for her revenge at Tobi.

* * *

The next afternoon they made it to Iwagakure. Again, they used the Transformation technique to get by the guards unnoticed. After Hinata's discovery the last mission, she transformed as well.

The three checked into a motel, and Itachi sent Kisame to investigate the village while he took Hinata out for more training. Kisame agreed, and Itachi took Hinata just outside the village to a hidden clearing.

Hinata kept improving, but it was tiresome work. As she sank onto a futon that night, she wondered what the mission was and how she was supposed to help it. The other two hadn't mentioned a single thing to her, other than that the mission was in Iwagakure. She would have to ask them in the morning, and hope the mission wasn't too bloody, considering who her partners were.

When she woke up, she found that Itachi had already gotten breakfast from a street vender. Hinata nodded her thanks and began to eat. "What is our mission?" she asked.

"Kisame needs to take care of a few people who are looking where they shouldn't," Itachi said. 'Take care' of a few people? So people would be killed on this mission. Well, this was the Akatsuki. She wasn't really surprised. "You and I will be looking into one of the Akatsuki's ventures that have ceased to pay us."

Hinata nodded. "What's the venture?" she asked.

"What is one of Iwagakure's most prized operations?" Itachi countered.

"...Mining." Hinata had paid attention in her schooling, and her countless tutors drove information into her.

"Correct. One of the largest mines belongs to the Akatsuki. However, the money flow halted, and we haven't had word from them in over a month." She nodded again.

Kisame split off from them at the exit of the motel. Itachi and Hinata walked through the town, busy even in the morning. Venders were setting up, shops were cleaning and stocking their shelves for the day, and mothers were talking happily to one another as their babies still snoozed in the strollers. It was an odd air when Hinata knew what Kisame would be doing in a few moments.

It was also weird to be back in a noise-filled village when she had left Konoha behind so long ago. Hinata snuck a glance at Itachi. Did he ever feel the same way?

They reached a part in the village where people seemed to thin out. Now the houses were shabbier, the rocks around them more pronounced. Itachi took a left and then they were at the heart of the mines of Iwa.

The whole of Iwagakure seemed to rest in a giant pit in the ground, and here at the mines, large holes poked through the rock walls. Hinata heard a distant explosion, and to her surprise, Itachi snorted in amusement. She glanced up at him.

"Deidara came from Iwagakure," Itachi said. A corner of Hinata's mouth twitched upward. This was Deidara's hometown? It explained a lot. He must have been prized highly for his explosive techniques here.

It made her wonder why he left.

Itachi started forward to a mine on his right, and Hinata hurried to catch up after him. Itachi touched a man on the shoulder. "Could you please direct me to the owner of this mine?"

"Eh? Yeah, he should be inside the mine. First on your right," the man said, and hefted up a wooden beam on his shoulder before walking away. Just before entering the mine, Itachi turned to Hinata.

"You may want to activate that Byakugan of yours. However, don't always trust what you think you see." That was... suitably vague. Hinata felt a prick of irritation, but activated her Byakugan anyways.

Itachi turned right in the mine and found a door. Who would put a set of rooms in a mine? Hinata wondered, as she looked into the rooms with her Byakugan. She didn't see anything suspicious, just two bodies- one inside the first room, and one in the second. Itachi knocked politely.

A gruff gentleman in a short sleeved shirt and slacks answered the door. Behind him, Hinata could see a whole, well-lit room and a row of switches and buttons. "Hm? Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am here to speak with the owner of the mines, Gumitsu-san," Itachi said.

The man looked them over. "Alright, but don't be causin' a problem here, 'cause I get to take care of the problems." His chakra level was that of a genin. Hinata doubted he had the strength to 'take care' of her and Itachi. The man was either bluffing, or had become cocky after beating on too many civilians.

"Believe me, that won't be necessary."

The gruff man knocked on the next door, and opened it. "Someone's here to see you, boss."

"Send them in," a refined voice said. It reminded Hinata of a cocky Neji before a fight. She was instantly wary. "Oh, Itachi-san. What brings you here to my mine?" Hinata followed Itachi into the room and closed the door behind her. They didn't need the gruff man to hear the conversation that would ensue.

"Have you been having problems lately? You're very late with your payment, Gumitsu-san," Itachi said. Gumitsu was a tall, thin man with a blond combover and a suit coat. He looked to be about thirty.

"Here's your payment." He handed Itachi a wad of cash. "Let me show you the problem... Hello, who do we have here?" He gave Hinata a scrutinized look.

"I am Hinata." She didn't offer a last name, only returned his look with narrowed eyes.

"Hmm, is that the Byakugan?" He turned to Itachi. "What-"

"She is, for all intents and purposes, my partner on this mission. You need not concern yourself with her. Please show me the problem, Gumitsu-san." Hinata was grateful for Itachi's stoic nature for once.

"Ah, a new member, hmm? Very well. Please follow me, Itachi-san, Hinata-san." He winked at her before turning away, and Hinata recoiled. Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder, and she straightened her posture. Itachi dropped his hand and followed Gumitsu. She wondered if Itachi had touched her to reassure her that she wouldn't come to any harm. Whatever his reason, Hinata gathered herself together and followed the two men out of the rooms and down into the mine.

Gumitsu put on a hard hat and took them down into the depths of the mine. They weaved their way around corners, took splits, and walked until the only light Hinata could see was the weak light emitting from Gumitsu's hat. Up ahead, to their right, were several chakra signatures. Several large chakra signatures. These were chunin and jonin.

Should she say something to Itachi? He told her not to trust what she saw, but those were very convincing chakra signatures. She opened her mouth. "Itachi-"

"Here we are," Gumitsu cut her off and opened a door. He gestured for Itachi and Hinata to enter. The chakra signatures were all gathered in the room. "Come on in." Itachi entered, but Hinata hung back. Gumitsu grabbed her arm and pushed her into the dark room. "The problem is that, well, I'm the one doing all the work here, and you're the ones who get paid. I can barely make a profit. Ciao!" He flicked on the light and shut the door behind him in the blink of a second. For a chunin, Gumitsu was fast.

He was the least of their problems at the moment, however. About twenty chunin and jonin-level shinobi stood around them. Hinata stiffened. "Itachi-san?" Her voice came out as a whisper. A few of the enemy shinobi laughed.

"Yes, Hinata-san?" His voice was level and smooth.

"What's the plan?" For once, she didn't stutter.

"It's quite simple. We defend ourselves, and then we make Gumitsu sorry he ever turned his back to the Akatsuki. He won't live to regret this day." Hinata stood at Itachi's back, and when she heard him unsheathe his katana, she clicked open her chakra blades.

"Hai."

"How arrogant!" One of the enemy shinobi sneered. "You're not leaving this place alive. Attack!" They launched towards Hinata and Itachi. Itachi took the brunt of the attack, but Hinata saw a few rushing up to her. As the weaker of the two, she knew she had to prove that she couldn't be picked on.

"Ice Style: Needle Rush!" She pulled out some water from the canteen at her side and, turning them into needles, threw them into her enemy's chakra points, closing them off. One rushed her with a sword and Hinata blocked the swing with one of her blades, and sliced his neck open with her other blade. He fell back as another shinobi threw a spiraling kick at her. She blocked it with one hand and hit a few of his chakra points with her other hand. He jumped back, wary of her. He sent an earth fist underneath her and she jumped back.

Hinata's Byakugan alerted her to an enemy behind her, and as she landed, she whirled to kick the enemy in the gut, and he flew towards Itachi. Itachi slid his sword out, and the man was impaled upon it.

Hinata sliced and jabbed, and threw needles until the enemy's count dwindled. She couldn't use some of her more impressive water techniques in such a small area, especially with Itachi at her back.

Itachi turned and killed the last of their opponents. The room was thick with the smell of blood, and now that there wasn't an impending threat, Hinata felt sick. She had killed for the first time, and she had killed in the blink of an eye. None of these shinobi would be going home to their families.

She tried to scrape the blood off her cheek, but only succeeded in smearing it across more of her face. She cringed and wiped her cheek against her shoulder instead. It went a little better.

They exited the room. "Hinata-san," Itachi said, "Wash yourself down with a water technique, and then find the heart of the mine. I think they've been using children as slaves, which the Akatsuki did not approve. Get the children out."

Hinata nodded. "What about you?"

"I think you've seen enough blood for today. I'll take out Gumitsu." Itachi flickered away, and Hinata made a mental note to learn the Body Flicker technique. She washed herself down, and started through the winding maze to get the most concentrated chakra signatures. She was fortunate enough to have the Byakugan's help in navigating the corridors. Anyone else, except perhaps Itachi, would have been lost.

Hinata glanced around the corner and saw the children picking around the mine. She slid behind a guard and slit his throat. It was terrible, but she couldn't afford letting him scream and alerting the other guards. Hinata made another note to improve her genjutsu that way she could silence the enemy without killing them.

She moved methodically, keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. Soon most of the guards had been removed, and Hinata clicked in her chakra blades and approached the kids. "Hello," she said, and they looked up at her with wide, frightened eyes. What would calm them? "I'm Hinata." She would try for honesty. Children were more perceptive than adults gave them credit for. "It's illegal for them to work you at this young of an age. You're safe now. Please follow me out." She helped them along, and had to pull away a pick from one confused child. "Older children, please help me with the younger ones." How could they use these innocent kids? She decided that the guards probably deserved death, even if she still felt bad about it.

She led them through the darkness in one long chain. If she saw an older worker ahead, she used her tsunami technique to wipe out the whole hallway ahead of them. It was slow work. Hinata held her breath. At this rate, they would soon be discovered and taken apart. She couldn't let that happen.

"Help!" She heard from the back of the line. "They're right behind us!" She pushed off the ground and ran along the wall until she reached the back. A guard held a kunai to a child's throat, and two goons were behind him.

"Listen to me, lady, we try to keep the industrial accidents with the little ones low, but they're our main work force. Give the kids to us, and we'll tell Gumitsu-sama not to kill you," he said.

"Gumitsu is probably dead by now," Hinata told him. "The authorities of Iwagakure are here, and we are releasing the children from your 'care'. Leave the child here, and you might be able to escape."

"Yeah, right. We're not letting go of our hosta-" Hinata threw a few large, ice senbon needles into his throat. In his last act, the man moved to slice the child's throat, but Hinata was faster. She slid her knuckles between the child's throat and the kunai. Her hand was sliced open.

She caught the child and pushed the corpse over. She had probably just scarred these kids for life, but their safety was the most important thing at the moment. The other two goons stepped forward.

"You killed 'im!" One said, and they both approached her. She had a child in one arm, and her other hand was bleeding. She couldn't fight like this. Hinata set the child down behind her and her hands flashed through several seals.

"Water Style: Imperial Tsunami Strike!" It blew their opponents away. The deepest parts of the mine would probably be flooded now, but Hinata no longer cared. She turned back to the kids. "We'll keep moving." She darted back to the front of the line of children and led them to the surface.

The sun had never been so beautiful. Hinata escorted the kids until all were out in the sunlight, blinking hard in the light. She helped them out of the mine area and into the busiest part of the village.

"Machi!"

"Kaito!" A few people started to recognize the children, although Hinata would guess that most of the children were stolen from villages along the border of the country. She sighed in relief. Now that the children were back in safe hands, it was time for her to find Itachi.

Hinata slipped away and headed back to the mines. She found Itachi at the entrance. "Is he dead?" she asked. Itachi nodded. Good. Hinata was glad he was gone.

"The children made it safely out?" Itachi asked.

"Yes."

Itachi turned away. "Let's get back to the motel. Kisame should be finished." They met Kisame back in the room, and slept at the motel for one more night before heading back to the base.

At the edge of the village, Hinata felt a pull at her shirt. She turned to see a child grasping onto her. The boy smiled up at her. "Thank you, Hinata-san." Hinata blinked. She wasn't supposed to be recognized. The children weren't supposed to remember her name!

The boy handed her a flower. "Bye bye!" He ran off to go play with another child. Hinata turned back to Kisame and Itachi.

She kept her face neutral. "Are we leaving or not, Itachi-san?" He nodded, and the two walked in front of her. A corner of Hinata's mouth turned upward.

Never mind that the two would see her weakness, Hinata liked the flower. She tucked it into her hair and caught up to them, ignoring Kisame's eye roll when he saw it. Hinata could swear she saw Itachi's mouth twitch, just a little bit.

He kept tapping Hinata every few hours on the way home, just to 'keep her on her toes'. She became very good at blocking the taps without activating the Byakugan, even if her eyes were still open. She felt more relaxed on the way back. Maybe she wouldn't kill Tobi after all.

* * *

Super sorry I'm so late on this update, guys. My job really surprised me with the amount of hours they threw at me (an eleven hour shift on Saturday, seriously). And I was panicked to be starting college, but I think it'll be manageable now. Hopefully. I should be back to my once-a-week updates, and if I'm not, just needle me a little bit. Thanks to those who gave me a jab in the side to get me going again. 'Til next time!


	6. The Three Tails

"Hinata-san, I need your help," Sasori said. Hinata had only been back to the base two days, and had started up her normal training routine the day before. "Follow me." Hinata put down her polishing kit and snapped her chakra blades closed.

"What is it, Sasori-danna?" He led her to the downstairs of the base. Hinata had never been down here before. Unlike the upstairs, the walls were rough rock and the lighting was dim. Hinata had thought she wasn't allowed to go downstairs. Perhaps it was where the Akatsuki kept their sensitive information. She knew that the interrogations happened downstairs, too, from what Deidara said.

"It's time to practice your healing." He led her around a corner. There was a man strapped to a stainless steel table. The top layer of skin on his arms had been removed, and Hinata saw daggers digging into his skin. She sucked in a breath. This was torture. She didn't quite realize Deidara had been kind when he had called it 'interrogation'.

This was quite probably where Sasori had gotten his 'samples' for her to practice her Healer's Palm with. Hinata waited for the wave of nausea to pass. Villages weren't blameless when it came to interrogation, either. She knew Ibiki-san and Anko-san were in charge of the Torture and Interrogation department in Konoha. Things like this happened.

It didn't mean Hinata liked it, though.

Sasori was unperturbed by Hinata's stillness. He walked around the table and motioned for Hinata to join him. "He's unexpectedly weak," Sasori said. "His heart is failing and I nicked a lung. Please focus on repairing his heart and keeping it steady while I manage his lung." Hinata swallowed and nodded.

She pressed a green hand over the man's heart and used her Byakugan to locate the damage and direct the healing chakra there. She spent the better part of an hour holding her hand there before Sasori nodded to her.

"Thank you, Hinata-san. You may leave now." It was an obvious dismissal, but Hinata remained.

"Wh-what village is he from?" she asked.

"Hm? Kumo, I believe." Kumogakure was the village always trying to take the Byakugan. They were the reason Hinata's uncle and Neji's father was dead. She clenched her hand into a fist. That didn't mean the man deserved torture, but Hinata had no business getting involved with this. She swallowed tightly and turned to leave.

"Oh, Hinata? Will you tell Hidan to come down and see me in a few hours?"

"Hai, Sasori-san."

Sasori found Hinata the next day and apologized for bringing her downstairs with him. "It was insensitive of me. I don't always remember what it feels like to shiver around a corpse."

Hinata sighed. "It's alright, Sasori-danna." Perhaps that was what had clued Sasori in to Hinata's displeasure. She usually took up Deidara's nickname for him, but yesterday she had been so disturbed she had treated him with formality. "You can take me down there for healing, but only when you're done with the- the interrogation."

Sasori gave Hinata a long look. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but we don't heal our prisoners when we're finished with them. We dispose of them so they don't disclose our location."

"Then you had better only get me when a member of Akatsuki is injured," Hinata said quietly.

Sasori nodded. "Can I help you with dinner, Hinata?" he asked. Hinata's eyebrows raised.

"Of course, Sasori-danna."

* * *

Another year passed. Hinata kept her hair short. She liked that it stayed out of her way when she fought, and Konan had once told her that her hair suited her, that it looked like a blue jay's feathers.

Hinata kept cycling out on missions, when she wasn't training with Tobi. She gained a lot of experience and was able to pick up a few new techniques from her various partners. Hinata could surprisingly deal with almost all of the Akatsuki members. She could work with them, even if she didn't necessarily like all of them. A respect had grown among most of them for the hard-working, blue-haired girl.

Hinata and Itachi also formed a bond that was close to friendship. He would pop out of nowhere, and Hinata would block his tap before turning to see what he wanted. Most of the time he would ask her how she was improving, and then take her out to the nearby village for dango.

There was only one person in the Akatsuki Hinata couldn't stand. It wasn't Hidan- Hinata could put up with his foul mouth for a while before she snapped at him to shut up, and if he didn't listen, Hinata would make it her mission to steal his scythe and hide it in the one place he never looked (the kitchen, which was Hinata's home territory). It wasn't Kakuzu, even though she felt the same distaste for him that she felt for his money.

The man Hinata hated was Madara Uchiha. He was arrogant, disrespectful, and looked down upon her with an air of superiority. He called her a cook, a maid, a servant. He craved violence more than Hidan, and Hinata could always feel a smirk underneath his mask. The moment Madara Uchiha appeared, Hinata left the room and camped out with Konan. Wherever Madara was in the base, Hinata made sure she was on the opposite side of it. She didn't cook dinners on the nights that Madara was there, so everyone had to fend for themselves. One time, when she'd accidentally run into Madara, he had mocked her for accepting Tobi for a teacher. He had told her that Tobi was weak, and that Hinata would inherit his weakness. She would amount to nothing but filth.

Hinata had grabbed a large vase and smashed it in his face. A few of the others had been watching the confrontation had gaped. What was even more surprising than Hinata throwing a vase was that it was so unexpected that Madara didn't even block it. It just hit him and broke his mask. He left before it completely broke and returned later with a new one from the room. (Konan told her later that the large vase was one she had bought from the village and had been quite expensive. Hinata apologized profusely. Konan told her that at least the vase had gone to good use.) After Tobi came back, she usually gave him the cold shoulder until he did something extremely stupid and Tobi-like, which fortunately didn't take that long.

Hinata and Tobi walked in from their late morning sparring (She'd lost. Barely.) to find every Akatsuki member sitting around the dinner table. "What's going on?" she asked, wiping away a tear of sweat from her cheek.

"Is it somebody's birthday? Happy Birthday, Deidara!" Tobi said.

"It's not my birthday, baka," Deidara replied.

"Sit down, Hinata, Tobi." Pein said. He flipped open a bingo book and slid it down the table to Hinata. She saw the picture of herself, and next to it the following words: **A-Rank Missing Nin: Capture or Kill On Sight**. She looked back up.

"Congratulations, Hinata-san. You're a jonin now," Konan told her.

"As a jonin," Pein said, "you may officially join the Akatsuki." Sasori pulled out a decorated box and handed it to her. She lifted up the lid, and inside the box lay an Akatsuki cloak. Her very own Akatsuki cloak.

Tobi squealed. "Put it on, Hinata-chan, put it on!" Hinata slid it on and zipped it up. It felt smooth on her skin. She smiled, and hoped it looked more like a smirk to Pein.

"You'll be partnering with Tobi on missions from now on, and you will be given your own room. Good job, Hinata-san." There was a lull of silence, until Deidara broke it.

"Bring out the food, un!" Konan had made a cake for Hinata, and they brought out a few other snacks, too. Later, Hinata was shown to her room, which was right across from Tobi's now.

Hinata sighed in content as she laid on her futon. Tomorrow, she was a real Akatsuki member.

* * *

Hinata strapped on her pack. Her first mission as an Akatsuki equal was to bring back the Three Tailed Demon, of the Village Hidden In The Mist. She'd had to ask where the demon came from, and was surprised when she heard the truth. Demons were usually sealed inside humans? She hadn't pressed for details, but she did wonder who Konoha's Jinchuriki was. It was probably someone older, someone she didn't know- but if the jinchuriki was around her age range, who would it be?

_Naruto...?_ Pein had told her that jinchuriki were often despised by their village, hated for containing the demons that killed shinobi. It would explain why no one ever wanted their children to play with Naruto. Why else would an orphan be forsaken and abandoned? If the jinchuriki was Naruto, Hinata only respected him more.

Now she had to contain the demon of the Village Hidden in the Mist. Pein told her that she and Tobi had the easiest of the lot; their demon didn't have a jinchuriki. How facing against a demon without a host to hold it back was 'easier' Hinata didn't know, but she knew that failure was not going to be an option for them.

She and Tobi left the base together, Tobi happily chatting about whatever came to his mind. Hinata was on equal footing with him now, but she decided that it would be okay to still call him Tobi-sensei. Anything else she tried out sounded foreign on her tongue.

It was up to Hinata to find the beast. She was the one with Byakugan. A rampaging demon wasn't that hard to find, Hinata figured. Tomorrow she would probably be able to see it; the distance her Byakugan could see was always expanding.

Hinata and Tobi stopped by a river for the day and set up camp there. Tobi jumped into the water and started splashing around. "Come on in, Hinata-chan! We can catch fish together." Hinata smiled. She was so glad to be on a mission with Tobi again. She always missed his cheerfulness when she left on a mission.

"Coming!" she said, and slid into the water. It was a warm day, but the river was chilly. "Tobi-sensei, do you know how to catch fish from the river?"

"Mm, maybe," he said. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan! Tobi will master the art of fish-catching and teach you." As if to prove his point, he lurched forward to grab a fish. Surprisingly, he flipped the fish out of the water. It slipped inside the neck of his Akatsuki robe.

"Ah! Get it out, get it out, get it out!" Tobi wriggled around and hit the shore of the river. "Ow! Help, Hinata-chaaaaan!" Hinata was too busy laughing to help her poor sensei. She was caught by surprise again when Tobi slammed into her. She almost lost her footing.

"Stay still," she laughed, and unzipped his Akatsuki cloak. The fish was stuck underneath the strap of his leg kunai pouch. Hinata pulled the fish out and speared it with a kunai. "Now who's the master of fish-catching?" she teased.

"That's not fair! Tobi caught it."

"Prove it, ne, Tobi-sensei?"

"Hinata-chan's making fun of me!" Hinata sat on the bank of the river while Tobi tried in vain to get another fish. By the time the sun was going down, Hinata slid into the water.

"I'll show you how it's done, Tobi-sensei." Hinata activated her Byakugan and soon had four fish lined up in a row.

"Hinata-chan cheated!" Tobi accused.

Hinata shrugged. "It's called playing to your strengths." It was what Sasori said after he cheated his way through winning poker games at the base. "Go start the fire. Tobi-sensei can cook the fish." Tobi whined for a moment, but Tobi had a few pyromaniac tendencies. He liked making big fires.

The next day they started off to get the demon. Hinata could see it now. It was large and had a coral-like structure on its back. It razed through trees, and Hinata flinched just watching it. They would have to be careful.

When they were close to it, Hinata motioned for Tobi to stop. "We should wait until it falls asleep," she said in a low voice. "Then we can catch it by surprise." He nodded, and they sat down to wait, mindful of the demon.

They were hidden in the bushes when Tobi suddenly jumped up and screamed. "SPIDER! Hinata get it off, get it off! Help!" Hinata yanked Tobi back down into the bushes, but it was too late. The demon turned, and Hinata's breath caught.

"**Hm, more humans to play with?**" It murmured, and charged them. "**Come out! Don't hide, that's boring.**" Hinata and Tobi jumped away from the bushes into the newly flattened clearing.

"Oh, Tobi got the spider off himself," Tobi said. Hinata scowled. Things like this were what made the Akatsuki members want to strangle him.

Never mind that, they had a demon to catch.

* * *

Yo! This is next week's update, a little early because it's better than being a little late, right? Thanks so much for the awesome reviews and follows, guys! Also, a shout out to Forever-A-Guest (who is no longer a guest, cool!) for being one of my most consistent reviewers.

#Authortime

(Me, dressed as Konan at an anime convention. A Tobi comes up to me)

Me: Tobi!

Tobi: Konan-chan! Is Tobi a good boy?

Me: Tobi is definitely a good boy!

Tobi: Even when Tobi killed Konan-chan?

Me: (face darkening) No! I take it back. Tobi is not a good boy!

(Tobi saunters away, leaving me fuming)

Me: Shut up. I wanted to be reunited with Nagato.

And that, people, is the reason my Tobi is NOT Madara. Because Tobi is a good boy, and good boys don't kill off my favorite characters.

Please review!


End file.
